#thirty seconds milano

[thirtysecondsmilano]

Die Bedeutung von Videos im Jahr 2024 für B2B-Unternehmen und darüber hinaus

Im modernen Kontext des digitalen Marketings sind Videos zu einem entscheidenden Werkzeug für B2B-Unternehmen und für alle Unternehmen geworden, die eine größere Wahrnehmung ihrer Marke und ihrer Werte schaffen möchten. Mit der Entwicklung der Online-Plattformen und der wachsenden Nachfrage nach visuellen Inhalten ist es unerlässlich, sich mit einem gut gemachten Video zu präsentieren, um die Aufmerksamkeit des Publikums zu gewinnen und zu halten. In diesem Artikel wird erläutert, warum es wichtig ist, dass Unternehmen in Videos investieren und warum es wichtig ist, sich auf eine spezialisierte Videoproduktionsagentur zu verlassen.

Warum Videos im Jahr 2024 entscheidend sind

Hohe Engagement- und Konversionsraten: Videos haben sich als eine der effektivsten Methoden erwiesen, um die Aufmerksamkeit des Publikums zu gewinnen. Laut aktuellen Statistiken erhöhen Videos den Website-Traffic um 160 % und die Konversionsraten um 80 %. Unternehmen, die Videos in ihre Marketingstrategien integrieren, verzeichnen einen signifikanten Anstieg des Engagements und der Verkäufe .

Effektive Kommunikation: Videos ermöglichen es, komplexe Botschaften einfach und ansprechend zu vermitteln. Dies ist besonders nützlich für B2B-Unternehmen, die oft technische Produkte oder Dienstleistungen erklären müssen. Allerdings beschränken sich Videos nicht nur darauf, Produkte zu beschreiben; sie vermitteln auch die Emotionen und Werte des Unternehmens und sprechen somit ein allgemeines Publikum an. Diese Art von Storytelling ist sowohl auf sozialen Plattformen als auch auf traditionellen Kanälen wie Fernsehen und großen Medien effektiv .

Erhöhte Glaubwürdigkeit und Vertrauen: Ein professionelles Video kann die Wahrnehmung eines Unternehmens erheblich verbessern. Das menschliche Gesicht des Unternehmens zu zeigen, Erfolgsgeschichten zu erzählen und Kundenreferenzen zu präsentieren, hilft, Vertrauen und Glaubwürdigkeit aufzubauen .

Die Wahl einer guten Videoproduktionsagentur

Nicht alle Videoproduktionsagenturen sind gleich. Es ist entscheidend, eine Agentur zu wählen, die Erfahrung, Kreativität und ein tiefes Verständnis für die Bedürfnisse des Kunden hat. Hier sind einige wichtige Merkmale, die zu beachten sind:

Erfahrung und Fachkenntnisse: Eine professionelle Videoproduktionsagentur muss ein Expertenteam haben, das Regisseure, Designer, Drehbuchautoren und Kameraleute umfasst. Diese Fachleute arbeiten zusammen, um Branding-Konzepte in digitale visuelle Kunst umzuwandeln .

Kompletter Produktionsprozess: Von der Vorproduktion bis zur Nachproduktion verwaltet eine qualifizierte Agentur jede Phase des Prozesses. Dazu gehört die Entwicklung audiovisueller Marketingstrategien, die Medienplanung, die Suche nach Drehorten, das Casting von Schauspielern, die Erstellung von Kostümen und Sets sowie die Nachproduktion mit kundenspezifischem Schnitt und Musik .

Hochwertige Ausrüstung: Die Verwendung von Kameras der neuesten Generation, speziellen Objektiven und fortschrittlichen Technologien ist entscheidend, um die Qualität des Videos zu gewährleisten. Die besten Agenturen sind immer auf dem neuesten Stand der Technik und wissen, wie sie diese nutzen können, um das beste Ergebnis zu erzielen .

Kreativität und Innovation: Neben den technischen Fähigkeiten ist Kreativität von entscheidender Bedeutung. Eine Agentur muss in der Lage sein, innovative Ideen zu entwickeln und sie in Video-Inhalte umzuwandeln, die beim Publikum Anklang finden. Dies erfordert ein kreatives Team, das weiß, wie man eine Geschichte effektiv erzählt .

Medienplanung und -verteilung: Es reicht nicht aus, ein gutes Video zu erstellen; man muss auch wissen, wie man es verteilt. Eine kompetente Agentur weiß, wie sie die Verteilung auf sozialen Kanälen und in traditionellen Medien plant und erstellt Versionen des Videos, die für verschiedene Plattformen und Marketingziele geeignet sind .

Beispiel für eine erfolgreiche Zusammenarbeit

Denken Sie an einen erfahrenen Chirurgen: Auch der beste Chirurg braucht ein qualifiziertes Unterstützungsteam, um hervorragende Ergebnisse zu erzielen. Ebenso erfordert eine erfolgreiche Videoproduktion ein gut koordiniertes Team. Jedes Teammitglied, vom Regisseur bis zum Kameramann, spielt im Prozess eine entscheidende Rolle.

Vorteile der Beauftragung einer professionellen Videoproduktion

Zeit- und Kostenersparnis: Die Beauftragung von Fachleuten mag teuer erscheinen, aber langfristig spart man dank ihrer Erfahrung und Fähigkeiten Zeit und Geld .

Zugang zu den neuesten Technologien: Spezialagenturen sind immer auf dem neuesten Stand der Technik und Methoden, was sicherstellt, dass das Endvideo auf dem neuesten Stand ist .

Geplante Medienstrategien: Eine kompetente Agentur weiß, wie sie die Verteilung des Videos plant, um die Wirkung in sozialen Medien und anderen Kanälen zu maximieren .

Flexibilität und Kreativität: Erfahrene Agenturen wissen, wie sie sich an die spezifischen Bedürfnisse des Kunden anpassen und kreative und flexible Lösungen anbieten .

360-Grad-Erfahrung: Eine Videoproduktionsagentur mit umfassender Erfahrung kennt die Techniken, die in der Vergangenheit funktioniert haben, und weiß, wie sie auf neue Trends angewendet werden können, um hervorragende Ergebnisse zu erzielen .

Die Exzellenz von Thirty Seconds Milano www.thirtysecondsmilano.com

Thirty Seconds Milano ist ein Beispiel für eine Videoproduktionsagentur, die sich durch Professionalität und Vertraulichkeit auszeichnet und hauptsächlich mit großen Marken und Unternehmen zusammenarbeitet, die greifbare Ergebnisse suchen. Mit Kunden in den Bereichen Mode, Luxus und internationalen Konzernen bietet Thirty Seconds Milano einen umfassenden Service von der Vorproduktion bis zur Nachproduktion und garantiert hochwertige Videos, die die Werte und Emotionen der Marke widerspiegeln .

Fazit

Im Jahr 2024 ist es wichtiger denn je, sich mit einem professionellen Video zu präsentieren, insbesondere für B2B-Unternehmen und alle Unternehmen, die ihre Markenwahrnehmung verbessern möchten. In eine gute Videoproduktionsagentur zu investieren bedeutet, hochwertige Inhalte zu sichern, die einen Unterschied in den Marketingstrategien machen können. Mit der wachsenden Bedeutung von Videos in der digitalen Landschaft kann die Wahl der richtigen Agentur zu einer erheblichen Rendite führen, indem sie das Engagement, die Konversionen und den Ruf der Marke verbessert.

Lassen Sie nicht zu, dass Ihr Unternehmen zurückbleibt. In einem zunehmend wettbewerbsorientierten Markt sind Videos kein Luxus mehr, sondern eine Notwendigkeit. Vertrauen Sie auf Branchenprofis und verwandeln Sie die Art und Weise, wie Ihre Marke mit der Welt kommuniziert.

[thetravellingvagrant]

Day 6 - In Which I Remember Why I Fucking Hate Hostels

As is now apparently just my way, I was up and raring to go for whatever grinding, awful bus journey lay ahead of me on this particular day. I think it was Genoa to Milan, but at this point I had done so many trips in such a short period of time it was impossible to actually tell. I quietly hauled all my errant belongings out of the dorm room in which I had spent the night, into the communal kitchen, to arrange them back into my bag as far away from sleeping ears as I could. Christ, I’m good. 

I sat down at the only table, joined by a strange and ever so slightly sinister looking thin, old man who gave me serious ‘was once a respected professor of history who has since been edited out of every BBC4 documentary he was ever featured on due to clandestine nazi sympathies and also wild, unspecified sexual misconduct’ vibes and forced a bowl of complimentary breakfast cereal down my throat, more because it was there and I hate passing up on a deal than out of any actual hunger. As I finished my, what I might loosely call, breakfast with a final triumphant wretch, I turned to the sink to wash my bowl - see above, re: christ, me being good - and the man spake. 

“You are travelling?” he asked in a thick italian accent.

“Uy, yes. To Milan” I offered in return.

“Ah. Me too! You go by bus?”

Ah christ. I really didn’t want to get saddled with having to walk to the bus stop with this guy. I was already late for a start - I didn’t have time to stop every thirty seconds for him to daub a swastika on a nearby wall and wolf whistle at a pre-teen.

“...Yeah.” I replied, the trepidation a little more obvious in my voice than I had intended. 

“...What time?”

Go. Away.

“...eight forty.”

“Ah. My bus is at ten.”

Thank god.

“My cell phone is broken and I don’t know how to get there.”

I stood in silence for a second, waiting for him to say more. I’m not quite sure why he was telling me; I couldn’t really wait until ten to walk him to the bus stop, if that’s what he was implying. He said nothing, though. Clearly it was my turn to talk.

“...the bus station isn’t that difficult to find...” I shrugged, putting my jacket on impatiently.

He nodded. I took this as a sign the conversation was over and turned to leave. As I put my hand on the door, he continued.

“Where do you go after Milano?”

“Bergamo.” I snapped, desperate to be out of this conversation, now for both time and comfort based reasons.

“Ah. That’s in the mountains?”

“...I guess?!”

Another silence. 

“...Well. Bye!”

And with that, perturbed and grumbling, into the icy air of the Genoan morning. I hope he never caught his bus. Bloody nonce. Probably.

Quite unlike the old diddler whom had just occupied far, far too much of my time, I had been in and around Genoa enough over the past four days to know, almost as if by instinct, where that fucking bus station was and so, made it there with ease. I boarded my already present and idling bus to Milan and took my seat. This one existed, so I was thrilled. The bar really is that low for Flixbus.

A minute or so before departure, a woman walked on board. That one woman every single inter-city bus seems to have; loud, unduly angry about something or other - god knows what - and existing completely without any concept of how the relatively simple ticketing or seating systems work on long distance buses. She leaned over a couple and began hammering on their window, seemingly in an attempt to catch the attention and bid farewell to her friend, not accompanying her on this journey. She then turned to the rest of the bus and boomed in Italian so loud that even I understood

“WHERE’S SEAT 20?!”

I chuckled. Boy, whichever poor sap was in seat 20 was about to have a shitty fucking time on this trip. Didn’t envy *that* poor schmuck one bi- Hang on a second, I’m in seat 20.

I watched, dismayed, as she howled over to my aisle and took the seat next to me, immediately spreading her knees and elbows out wide, puncturing directly into my own happy little bubble of personal space. Sighing, I folded myself into the smallest shape I could manage and pressed myself against the glass. It was me. I was the schmuck.

The woman fell asleep near immediately, allowing me some wiggle room in unfurling myself, which I immediately and gleefully took. This was a mistake. In my (outwardly) casual attempt to not cripple myself, I accidentally jostled her arm, which fell from its previous resting place, atop her fat tummy, directly onto my leg. This, obviously, was an intolerable turn of events and one I immediately rectified by pushing her hand away, into the gap between us. She responded to this, still asleep (I hope) by pushing her now loose hand, first under my thigh then snaking it upwards to my lower buttock. How had this gone so badly wrong. I tried for an embarrassing amount of time to subtly remove her pudgy little meathooks from my gentleman’s lady garden to no avail - many of my attempts seemingly only causing her to push in deeper - until eventually, I relented and decided instead to live with his unimaginable social torment and just fart on her hand periodically instead. Revenge is sweet. 

Eventually, nearly forty minutes late - it was Flixbus after all - we pulled in to Milan and the woman pulled her hand out of my unhappy anus. We bid each other adieu and went our separate ways into the city, never to see one another again. I absolutely fucking pray.

Reader of earlier entries to this blog will know that Milan’s Lampugnano bus station is, very helpfully, fucking ages away from the city center. Regardless, I decided to walk the distance one more, partly because the check-in time for my hostel dorm for the night was, once again at the irritatingly late 2PM, though mostly because I hadn’t figured out how to buy a ticket on Milan’s public transport system and at this point was beginning to be too stubborn to want to figure it out. So I walked. Shoulders be damned.

I arrived at my hostel at half past one - the time I had been let into the previous hostel - and so decided to push my luck. 

“Check in is 2.” the surly, bespectacled woman behind the counter snapped.

“Oh, okay.” I replied, knowing that anyway. 

She eyeballed me, sighed deeply as if absolutely done with my bullshit, despite me uttering literally two sentences since my arrival and began tapping on her keyboard.

“...One moment” she spat, clicking away, before stopping, looking up at me like I’d just spitroasted her cat and oozed out the words “...Your bed is ready.”

“Oh, lovely!” I beamed, quietly wondering what her shitty attitude was about if the room was already free and me being in it thirty minutes early, to the best of my knowledge, affected her life in absolutely not one way I could imagine. She grunted and threw a key at my face. 

A far cry from the yesterday’s hostel, this one had absolutely no charm to it at all. It was sterile, impersonal and shoved rules in your face in almost every direction you turned

So homely. Also, as a side note "we will have to use the oxidation blade to open your locker" is an absurd claim. The door to mine was nearly hanging off its hinges and one solid yank cold have collapsed the whole thing.

Also my assigned bed was an upper bunk in a corner of a four-person dorm, in which all the residual heat of the room coalesced, making my bed and my bed, alone, the hottest place on fucking earth. I turned the heating off immediately and clambered into it, regardless, to relax my aching body. Maybe if I thought of it as a kind of sauna it wouldn’t be so bad, even though I absolutely hate saunas. 

It wasn’t long before I met two of my erstwhile roommates. A couple of loud-ass, basic-ass Polish Erasmus students*. My favourite. 

They had been separated from their other two loud-ass, basic-ass cohorts by the hostel’s callous room-assignment computer system and they were not happy about it, one bit, no sir. As luck would have it, though, they had bumped into two entirely different Mexican Erasmus students staying in the other room who were willing to switch dorms with them. As absolutely thrilled for them as I was - and I was very thrilled - the upshot of this entire encounter was that my dorm room had now become a sort of low-key, very very boring party-central for two different groups of Erasmus dullards to mingle and hoot and discuss their various business management courses. It’s always fucking business management. Anyway, my answer to that was a firm and emphatic “no.”, so I packed my laptop away and left, hoping against hope that by the time I returned they would all be dead. 

(*for those of you reading unfamiliar with Erasmus, it’s a sort of foreign exchange program you can enter into while in university, which the students who partake of it use as a replacement for genuine personality.)

I grabbed a quick lunch in the form of a pre-packaged sandwich (with the crusts already cut off because Italians are babies) from a supermarket, before heading to the Milan museum of natural history - noting that entry was free on the third Tuesday of every month, which it was, and thus taking that as a cosmic sign that I should go look at a mammoth for a bit or whatever.

The museum was actually really quite a good one, despite nearly all of it being described only in Italian and while I thought it, initially, to be a bit titchy and shit, I was delighted to discover that the initial part of the museum - which I had thought to be the full thing - was actually augmented by multiple other, hidden away floors of exhibits, a good number of them chock full of some pretty fucking stanky examples of bad taxidermy, which, as anyone who’s even passed a quick eye over this blog or spoken to me in person for even a second in real life will know, is absolutely my jam. So expect a big dump of photos of that after this entry.

Brace yourself...

For dinner, I decided to get some famous Milano pizza. Milan, of course, being the birthplace of the dish and it wasn’t until I was outside my chosen restaurant that I remembered that it’s actually Napoli rather than Milan that pizza originated in and I’m actually very stupid. Consequently, out of a potent mixture of embarrassment and irritation, I ended up getting some nice pizza-esque foccacias, instead. Milan is probably famous for those, right? Right.

Back in the hostel, I was left alone in my otherwise unoccupied room for hours hours and - again - anyone who’s ever met me in person will tell you that I firmly believe that not being around people is fucking sick, so I was obviously having the time of my ruddy life.

At around eleven, fatigue set in. I clicked my light off, lay my head on the pillow and I swear to Italian Jesus, literally less than thirty seconds after I had done this, the doors to the room burst open and the Erasmus girls returned, followed shortly after by the other occupant of the room who, if I am being as charitable as I possibly could be, I could only really describe as ‘The king regent of all fuckbois’. 

I anticipated some noise on their return. That was fine. It’s impractical and unfair to expect everyone to be as great and also handsome as I am, while staying in a dorm. What I did not expect, however, were all the lights to go on and for Fuckboibot 2000; a robot sent back in time from the near future to neg all women, to spend a full forty five minutes, loudly opening, closing and reopening his suitcase, banging his locker door shut at full force and generally being as loud and shit a roommate and person as it was possible for him to be, which apparently is so shit that it even transcents what I thought to be a human being’s limit of shitness and yes I am including Hitler in that.

Finally though, sick of making all the noise he possibly could, like a baby sick of its rattle he settled into his bunk for the night, presumably to wind down for the evening, looking at mean spirited memes and sliding into the DMs of unwilling and disinterested women as I lay in the darkness and plotted my incredibly petty revenge. 

[angie-escapemos-al-espacio]

...

Estoy emocionada! Saliendo fuera de Milano por varias horas <aunque no tanto> pero si la primera ves en tren <treno> 🥲😵‍💫

[crifrommars]

☆ Amazing ☆ b&w ☆

Jared Leto / 30 Seconds To Mars @ Milano Rocks

© life_by_the_pit

[psychedelic-ballads]

pics from Thirty Seconds To Mars’ concert in Milan 09.08.2018

[esoltis280]

@JaredLeto: #MonolithTour #TB // Milano Rocks.

[bteezxyewriter12]

Mr. Park~ Misunderstanding

Pairing- Seonghwa x Named Reader

Genre/Au- Angst, Smut, Fluff

Word Count- 3k

Rating- NSFW, 18+

Includes- Dilf Seonghwa, Age Gap Relationship- Everyone is consenting adults, sex, riding

Notes-💓👍🏻Joanne = y/n

Yes I use the same name for the female character for every story. I'm that lazy. And I don't like writing in the "you" style. Saw this name and liked it so here it is. Joanne is not the same character in every story....that'd be weird

I've read that some people are uncomfortable with y/n and would rather have an actual name. It's also easier for using nicknames in the stories. Feel free to substitute your name and attributes instead of the character's, since it's meant to be you💓👍🏻

Series Masterlist

I get home from work and walk inside the house

"Jagi?", I call

I hear her coming down the stairs. "Hi baby", she says, coming right into my arms. It's only been a few days since she's been here but I can say I absolutely love coming home to her

"How was work?", she asks

"Annoying"

"Did you flirt with your secret lover?", she teases

"Oh yeah. I was walking by with Mingi and she said "You look so handsome today". I have no idea who she was talking to"

"Mingi obviously", she jokes

I pout, "Really Mingi? He's prettier than me?"

"Aww baby no. You're so much prettier. I promise", she laughs

I smile seeing her happy. She has been since she's staying with me. I know I am every second

"What'd you do today jagi?", I ask, leading her upstairs so I can change

She went to work yesterday but they sent her home when they saw her face. She looks better, her eye not so swollen but still purple all over. Her jaw is still purple and her lips has a big scab on it

Her boss says she can't work with her face like that and gave her a paid week off. I thought that was a little rude to send her home just because she was hit but Joanne was ok with it so I can't really say anything

"Slept, ate, watched tv. That's it", she answers sitting on the bed

I've come to realize that she really loves to sleep I have to get up by seven thirty and she wants no part of it. I just let her sleep because I don't see why she should get up if she doesn't have to

"Lucky", I whine, taking my tie off and unbuttoning my shirt, "I wish I could stay with you"

"You can baby, soon. Tomorrow is Friday then it's Saturday and I get you all to myself."

Smiling at her, I tell her, "You have me all to yourself always aegi"

She grabs my hand, turning me to her, "Good"

She undoes my pants pulling them and my boxers off

"Jagi-"

"Want you so much. I'm not going to break baby"

I know she's not but I've been extra careful with her the last few days. We haven't had sex, I don't hold her so tight, I'm careful around her. The bruises are still purple on her back and arms even though it's been a few days. I never want to hurt her. Ever

"Don't you want to?", she asks softly

Looking down at her immediately, she's biting her lips, looking unsure

"Of course I do baby. Don't ever think I don't jagi because that's just not true. I just don't want to hurt you"

She nods, "Ok Hwa. It's ok."

She stands up, kissing my cheek, then goes to the door, "I'm gonna get something to eat. You want something?"

Fuck, I think I upset her, "Uh no, I'm ok"

She nods, then she's gone, her footsteps fading away

Fuck. I definitely upset her. I don't think she's mad but I for sure made her sad. I don't know what to do. I want her so much. Holding back from sex is killing me but I'm doing it for her. But maybe she feels like I'm rejecting her. She tried to be with me over the last few days but I always say no without saying the words

Sighing, I quickly change then go down stairs. Hearing the tv on, I go into the living room. She's on the couch, eating milano cookies and watching a TV show. Glancing at the tv, I see there's a battle on with people swinging swords and killing each other

"What are you watching?", I ask

"Vikings"

She told me about this show yesterday. How she's binged watched the first two seasons already. I sit down next to her but she doesn't move closer to me

She holds out the cookie pouch, "Cookie?"

"Uh no thanks"

"I put your jalapeno chips there in case you want them", she says, pointing to the coffee table but not taking her eyes off the tv

She also brought Doritos and some coke cans too. I stay with her, watching the show

But it feels awkward

She's not talking to me, she's not sitting close to me, she's not joking around, smiling or anything. And I don't know what to do

"Oh shit", she gapes at the tv as a female side character gets hit in the face with a sword. When the episode is over, she immediately goes to the next one and switches the cookies for the Doritos

She offers me the bag but I shake my head. She shrugs and starts eating them. Not being able to take it anymore, I move closer to her, pulling her to me. She moves too, leaning against me as she still eats the chips

I'm glad she didn't push me away but she's still distant. When she finishes eating, she gets one of the couch pillows, puts it in my lap, then lays down. I play with her hair and hold her while we watch the show

She comes out of the bathroom and gets into bed next to me. The rest of the day was awkward. We ate dinner then watched some more of the tv show. And that's it

She didn't talk much, she didn't kiss me or hug me like she normally does. Honestly it scares me. She leans over to me and kisses me

I think she meant for it to be a quick kiss but I hold her close, kissing her more

Her arms move around my neck as she deepens the kiss. Moving my hand down, I move it under her shirt, touching her smooth skin. I love touching her, love the way she feels, how soft her skin is. Moving my hand to her breast, I touch it

But she moves her hand under her shirt, pulling my hand off her, taking it out from her shirt. I pull away from her, surprised. And kinda hurt

"Jagi-", I start

"No"

"But-"

"No. I don't want guilt sex Seonghwa."

Guilt sex? She can't think I'd just have sex with her for any other reason than wanting her. I wouldn't have sex with her because I feel guilty

"That's not-"

"Can we just not? I don't want to talk ok. I want to go to sleep"

I just nod, knowing she's not going to listen right now. But inside, I'm panicking. And it hurts that she's pushing me away

I realize what I'm feeling is probably what she felt these last few days I pushed her away. Even though I'm doing so I don't hurt her, I'm still he hurting her. Just not physically

I hate that's she maybe feeling what I'm feeling, that I made her unhappy. She kisses my cheek then shuts off the light

She lays down, facing away from me so I turn to her, putting my arm around her, getting closer to her. She moves back into me, her hand holding onto my arm. I kiss the back of her neck and she kisses the back of my hand

"I love you", she whispers

"I love you Jo. So much"

Holding her, I hope everything will be better tomorrow

💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

On my way home from work, I'm hoping it'll be better with Joanne. Go back to the way it was before yesterday

When I woke up this morning, she was still sleeping so I let her sleep. When she woke up she texted me that she was up. I called her on my lunch but it lasted less than five minutes. She didn't talk much and she seemed distracted

I decided I'm going to apologize to her and try to talk with her. I don't know what she's thinking but I know I don't want her to think wrong things. Like last night when she thought I wanted to have sex because I felt guilty. I don't want her thinking that

Pulling into the drive way, I'm nervous as I get out of the car. Going inside the house, I call her name. There's no answer

My mind jumps to the worst. Did she leave? Did she leave me? She said she loves me yesterday. Was she lying?

I force myself to calm down. There could be so many reasons why she's not answering. If she's showering or sleeping or she went to the store

I check the living room first and find her there. Sitting on the couch, her knees to her chest, staring at nothing and chewing on her lip on the side where the scab is. There's blood on her chin from her lip

"Jo?", I call softly, going to her, grabbing a tissue from the coffee table. She doesn't answer and I'm worried. Sitting next to her, I touch her hand, startling her, her eyes darting to me

"Jagi, are you ok?". She shakes her head, making my panic rise

"What happened baby?", I ask, touching her hair. She stops biting her lip, her cut open again. I press the tissue to her lip, wiping the blood

"My...my dad called me"

I stop wiping her lip. What? He did? I'm confused because wasn't he on board with kicking her out? He definitely didn't protect her from her mother's beatings. Not before and definitely not now

"What did he say?"

"I...I didn't answer. He left a voicemail. He wants to meet and talk to me"

"With your mom?"

She shakes her head, "No. Just him"

Ok, that's strange, "Are you going to go?"

"I don't know"

I'm on the fence about this. She should go and hear her dad out. Maybe he'll explain why he allowed her to be kicked out of the house, why he didn't protect her. But maybe she shouldn't go, especially if it'll upset her. But there's one thing I'm sure about

"If you go, I'm going with you", I tell her

I'm ready for an argument but to my surprise she nods. "I want you to come with me"

"I will aegi. I'll do anything you want ok? I'll be by your side always"

She takes my hand, nodding, "Thank you"

I pull her to me, hugging her, putting the bloody tissue on the couch

"You don't have to thank me baby. I love you more than anything. I'll always be there ok?"

She nods, "I love you Hwa. So much."

I know she does. I feel her love all the time

"Jagi, I'm sorry", I tell her, wanting to apologize for yesterday

"For what?", she asks confused

"For making you unhappy yesterday"

She pulls away, looking at me, "There's nothing to be sorry about"

"But I upset you. I didn't mean to"

She shrugs, "It over now. It doesn't matter

"Yes it does Jo. I don't want you to think I don't want you"

She looks away, "Look, I get it. I look ugly with this dumb black eye, cut and bruise on my face"

I'm horrified. She thinks I care about that?

"And my body is messed up with the bruises on my back and arms. I get that I'm not attractive right now"

This is so wrong. All of it is so wrong

"Joanne no". She looks over at me, a questioning look in her face, "All that is completely wrong baby. I don't think your ugly or unattractive. You are beautiful no matter what. Absolutely nothing can take away from your beauty jagi. I mean it"

Her cheeks turn so red as she blushes. "I was being serious when I said I don't want to hurt you. I want to make you feel good, not be in pain because of your back or your arms. I don't want to hurt your lip.", I explain, "I know you're not breakable jagi but you're mine and I love you so much. Everything in me, every muscle, every nerve, ever fiber of my being tells me to protect you and keep you safe. To do anything and everything to make sure your never in pain, never hurt."

She looks at me softly, her hand touching my cheek. "I'm sorry if I made you feel insecure or ugly. I didn't mean to. I mean it when I say you are perfect. Every single thing about you, from your looks to your personality is my perfect everything"

"You are my perfect everything too Hwa. I mean it when I say you are too.", she says softly, "I mean it when I say I trust unconditionally. I know you would never hurt me."

Even though I know this, everytime she says it I feel so...honored that she trusts me like that.

I trust her like that too and I make sure she knows it

"I trust you unconditionally too jagi. Always"

She comes into my arms, in my lap, hugging me so hard, burying her face in

"I love you", she murmurs

"I love you jagi"

She has no idea how much I love her

I move her face to mine, kissing her gently, avoiding her cut

"Am I still bleeding?", she asks

I shake my head, "No baby. I wiped everything away. But don't bite your lip anymore ok? It'll take longer for your lip to heal"

She nods, "Ok"

She makes a move to get off me, but I stop her

Looking down at me, I tuck the hair that falls in her face behind her ear

"Kiss me", I whisper

She lips are instantly against mine, kissing me slowly, lovingly

My hands find their way under her shirt, touching her back very gently.

Her fingers play with my hair, one hand cupping my face

I move back until my head is on the couch arm

Moving her shirt up, she moves back from me, "Hwa"

"Come back jagi", I whisper

"But-"

"Please come back. I want you"

She nods, her lips against mine again, my tongue slowly going in her mouth

She pushes off my suit jacket and I sit up, throwing it on the floor

I don't care about it right now

Her hands quickly take off my tie the start unbuttoning my shirt, still kissing each other

Once my shirt is off, I lay back down, pulling her shirt off

She moves away from my lips for the second it takes to get her shirt off, then goes right back to kissing me

I move my fingers on her body, feeling her skin shiver

We kiss for a long time, giving each other small touches

I don't need her to tell me she loves me, I feel it

It's almost like I can touch it, it just radiates off her

And I hope to God she can feel my love for her

Playing with the waistband of her shorts, I slowly pull them down

She shifts, standing to her them off her

Leaning over, she undoes my belt and pants, pulling them down and I kick off my shoes

Once their off she climbs back on my lap, her mouth against mine again

She sits on my hard on and I just want to feel her on me

I move my hands to my boxers, pulling them down and kicking them off, then take off her panties

Pulling her against me, she sits and she's so wet, all over me

God I love it

"Please jagi", I whimper

"What baby?", she answers, kissing neck and causing my brain to go blank for a second

"Hmmm baby?", she says quietly

"Please ride me. I need you. I need to feel you. I need to be inside you", I plead

"Anything for my baby"

She reaches between us, holding me up, then she sinks down on my length

"Fuck", I whisper, feeling unbelievable pleasure as she slowly takes me inside her

After she bottoms me out, she leans over me, pressing kisses all over my neck, my shoulders

She's already pulsing around me and it feels so good

Sitting up, she holds on to the back of the couch as she starts moving

Up and down, again and again, clenching my cock as she moves, slow but just a little hard

"Oh god jagi, you feel so good", I moan, feeling pleasure all over

"You feel good Hwa. Always", she whimpers

Grinding against me, pleasure spikes all over my body

I move my hands from her thighs, sliding up her body, my eyes watching her

I'm always in awe that she's actually mine

That she actually loves me

"I love you so much", I tell her

She smiles at me, my breath knocked from my lungs seeing it

"I love you Seonghwa"

She takes my hand, brings it to her mouth, kissing my palm. More love for her sparks in my body. No words can ever describe my love for her

I hold her hand, mesmerized by the way she moves on me. She's getting so much tighter and I know that when she orgasms I will. When we're like this.. making love to each other I can't hold back

I don't want to. I want to cum with her, feel with her. Feel close to her

Her fingers lace with mine, squeezing my hand. "Seonghwa", she moans, her eyes closing, pleasure all over her face and body. Ecstacy falls over me as I let go, coming and gripping her hand hard

"Joanne", I whimper, "Baby"

My god it feels out of this world

Rocking on me makes the pleasure last longer. When we both finish, I take her in my arms, moving her on top of me, her head on my shoulder

Taking her hand, I kiss all over, holding her

"I love you Hwa", she says, looking up at me

"I love you Jo"

I turn my head to her, kissing her lips, holding her hand against my chest. Against my heart

"My everything", I whisper

She smiles at me, pressing a tender kiss to my lips

"My world", she says

Smiling, I'm so happy. I hope this happiness never goes away. I know it's because of her and I know I'll be happy like this as long as I have her

And I will do everything and anything to make her as happy as she makes me

Read with gifs here

@hijirikaww @sherrybirkingirl @sktbzc0re

[pochiperpe90]

Luca Marinelli: "The risk? Becoming lazy"

From Rome, 31 years old, nine films, the meeting with Caligari: the actor is the symbol of the new Italian cinema. "I'm shy but when I'm on stage or on set I feel free"

BERLIN. The ACTOR symbol of the best youth of Italian cinema lives in Berlin. Luca Marinelli has been moving around Rosenthaler Platz for four years. His isn’t a case of talent escaping abroad. "I live here to be with my lady", he specifies with the slight Roman accent that nipped in the bud a career as a voice actor in his father's footsteps. It would have been a shame to steal that intense and sharp face, the beautiful eyes from the big screen. He’s found in advance in a dairy with crumbling walls, he orders a ginger herbal tea against colds: "I ride a motorbike with a coat and this is the result". Marinelli made his debut with Saverio Costanzo in The solitude of prime numbers, in 2010. Since then he has never missed a role. The consecration came, at the age of thirty, with the last two: the toxic Cesare from Don’t Be Bad, a film that represents Italy at the Oscars, and the villain of Lo Chiamavano Jeeg Robot, a film comic at the Rome Film Festival and in theater from February.

How do you live in Berlin and work in Italy?

"Well, I make about two films for year. I hope to keep the average. Living here has pros and cons. Every time I work I have to move. For Don’t Be Bad I lived two months in Ostia this year".

In a few days we will know if it enters the shortlist for the Oscars.

"It was a strong experience. Valerio Mastandrea called me for the role of Vittorio but Claudio said he wanted to try me as Cesare. What a joy. We did the  audition with Alessandro Borghi and Caligari's face exploded in one of his rare smiles. Claudio said to me, "It's you.” I was beside myself but I held back."

Why?

"I'm shy. It's on stage, on the set that I feel free. Claudio taught me to love the character without judging him. I gave him love and depth. The whole film was and is an act of love. The strongest memory it's the last day on set, the applause to Claudio, the return to the car with him, it was the last time I saw him. I will always thank Valerio, who was strong fuel for the film. We wanted to go to the Venice Film Festival, we did it even if it would have been better in competition. The critics and the public loved the film. In a social center a huge guy hugged me and said "thank you"".

Mastandrea compares you for talent to Elio Germano.

"He says I'm more crude, and it's true. I still don't have a clear method of dealing with the film, I move by instinct."

You went to the Academy of Dramatic Art.

"Yes. Before the audition with Caligari, Valerio whispered to me "Nun je dì che sei de Prati" (”Don’t tell him you are from Prati” in Roman’s dialect). But I understand that Romanity, that pain of Cesare. It’s a Romanism that the public loves, that of films like ‘La grande guerra’: you laugh and in the end you have a lump in your throat. My relatives in the north always welcome me with: "Here is the Roman", and they laugh".

You often mention your family.

"My father was my hero as a child. He had voiced Inigo Montoya, the swordsman of “The Fantastic Story” and for me he was him. Once he told me that if he could go back in time he would have attended the academy, so I did. I got the tenacity from my mother, my grandmother introduced me to the cinema with her films, from “I soliti ignoti” to “Miracolo a Milano”. From my grandfather I learned to think differently: he was a carpenter and he put furniture together, he didn't just put a screw in it".

Who do you thank at the cinema?

"Costanzo, who first trusted me. Then Virzì who gave me the second great chance, and then Claudio. Costanzo and Alba Rohrwacher were a strong encounter. I hadn't done cinema, I came from the theater with Carlo Cecchi"

How does success affect you?

"It’s like a honey bath. But I'm afraid of getting lazy.".

You just played "Lo zingaro" in "Lo chiamavano Jeeg Robot" by Gabriele Mainetti. A crazy villain, like Joker.

"I watched Heath Ledger in Batman three hundred times as one looks at a painting, to inspire myself. I also thought about the villain from The Silence of the Lambs who fascinated me as a child."

In the film you sing like Anna Oxa.

"We chose “Un’emozione da poco” watching the Sanremo exhibition: she looked like David Bowie, fantastic. We imagined a jacket that would take up that look: the character keeps it like a superhero costume".

How does a Roman live in Berlin?

"With sinusitis. But I'm fine here, especially when the sun comes out. And I starred in a good German TV movie. I'm a Venezuelan and I'm the villain. It was the year of the bad guys."

REPUBBLICA

Just wanted to translate this old interview for the non-italian’s fans ^^ (sorry for my English)

[feverinfeveroutfic]

chapter thirty four: the new order of things

Sam's twenty third birthday came about in a quick flash and a draw in the middle of January, but given the look on Joey's face for most of the day, she knew that she would have to enjoy every second of it all. Anthrax themselves hardly had any time to enjoy the Christmas break or the New Year given they had a pair of shows to play at L'Amour the week before.

“Consider it our birthday gift to you, though,” he told her in the two days before then; even though they had been scheduled to play for two dates, she could only attend the show on Saturday given the new workload for the winter term.

In the springtime, they were to be out on the West Coast for several dates and a small taste of it all before she did.

On that afternoon before the second show, she had done her black hair up nice and dressed in the nice black and red knit sweater that her mother had sent her for Christmas. As she ran a hair brush through her hair, she gazed on at her reflection in the mirror before her. Her hair as black as Joey's crown of ringlets, but it seemed to sit far more flat upon her head than she had realized before.

A week from twenty three and she looked as though she had aged about ten years: her eyes lacked that spark from when she first started school and her skin had not that smoothness to it like when she first moved to New York. Or maybe she put too much thought into it, but she lacked that same luster as before when she bode farewell to her teenage years.

In that brief pocket of time before the accident, Cliff had seen her as beautiful, even when she got heavier over Christmas. And it was looking on at her own reflection when she realized what he meant by that. Into her own dark eyes. At her own crown of flat black hair upon her head. She couldn't see it herself, and yet he could.

Or maybe she needed something more to rejuvenate herself.

Six more months like the taste of a pomegranate seed on her tongue.

She put the brush down on the counter next to her and switched on the faucet. She then splashed some cold water onto her face. The cold feeling itself woke her up even more than the power of a warm cup of coffee. A cannon ball right to the face and an electric shock down her spine.

Using the hand towel next to her, she patted her face dry and then she gazed on at her reflection once more. It did something, though: her skin looked even tighter than before. Her dark eyes seemed far deeper and her black hair appeared blacker. Thick strands of hair lay upon the crown of her head: the one closest to her brow lay upon her head in a thick swirl. She had had a cowlick upon her head, but she had no idea when she had it the first time around, and she had no idea where it came from, either. But it lay there upon her head with the curvature of a serpent.

She patted the towel onto her head and dried off the front of her neck before she left the bathroom and put on her jacket.

It was cold afternoon there in New York City: the snows kept on coming one right after the other in the past three weeks alone. When she reached the front seat of his car, Frank told her that a Nor'easter was headed their way soon enough; he had insisted on driving her there rather than have to rely on the buses, even with all the stage hands and new help they had on hand from that point onward.

“Yeah, it's gonna be your first one, ain't it?” he teased her.

“Oh, yes, I feel like it's gonna be appropriate for the show tonight, too. Thank you for this, by the way.”

“Oh my pleasure! I mean, you are a friend of us, after all. But even with it, we still have to do some convincing about the place because the thing is they see you as a civilian still.”

“Which is amazing because you guys are civilians yourselves.”

“Well, to you we are,” he explained as they reached the first stoplight up the block. “You'll see what Joey and I were talking about when we got home with the big rowdy crowds. I should also tell you that we're not gonna be playing in New York City again until the middle of August.”

“The middle of August?” she gaped at him, to which Frank nodded at her with a look of concern on his face.

“Yeah, at the Ritz. But—yeah, for real. The middle of August. The tenth, I think? Literally right after you leave.”

She thought about what Joey had told her when they got home from Europe, and it was right there she relished every moment of that drive down to Manhattan from Hell's Kitchen. Indeed, by the time they had reached L'Amour and that familiar neighborhood, Sam gazeed on in awe at what became of it all. Two years since she had been there and the whole place looked as though it had come from a whole other city. Cars loaded up on either side of the street outside there and all around the storm drains. Even as Frank pulled into that familiar parking lot, the whole place was filled to the brim.

“I'm with the band!” Frank declared as he turned a corner.

“We're at home, too,” Sam pointed out.

“Right! I'm with the band and yet here we are playing at home. Oh, wait—there's Billy!”

“Mr. Milano?”

“Yup, right there—” Frank rolled up to the spot before the side door of the club, and where Billy stood in the middle of, as if he was saving the spot just for them; and he backed out of there so they could park. Sam and Frank were met with a blast of icy cold air all around them; she huddled down in her coat and kept her hands tucked into her pockets.

“Haven't seen you in forever and a day,” Billy told her and he showed her a smile.

“You, either!” She put her arms around him and then he led them into that warm front room of the club. The place was already filled to the brim with people despite it being three in the afternoon.

“We're making every moment together count, Bill,” Frank told him over the noise of the crowd.

“You ought to anyways,” Billy pointed out as he led them to the backstage area.

“Well, Sam I am here is going out to California for a thing for school this summer, though.”

“Oh, yeah?” Billy gaped at her in surprise.

“Yeah, it's for my senior year,” she explained to him; he held the curtain for her. “No idea how long it's going to be for, though. It could be a few months, it could be the whole school year, I have no idea.”

“Oh, fuck! Yeah, let's hang out together here. Show doesn't start until—seven, you said, Frankie?”

“Yeah. The doors were supposed to open at six but I guess everyone got impatient.”

While they walked across those wooden floor boards, all those Stormtroopers of Death memories came back to Sam. It was even that long ago and yet it felt like a whole lifetime altogether.

“Yeah, they consider it to be the easiest job in the world, but you can see it, though,” Frank pointed out, and he glanced back at her. “Wouldn't you agree? It's not easy as it looks.”

“Oh, yeah, we're having to miss you boys for weeks on end,” she remarked.

“Watch your step,” he warned her as he held onto her hand. Indeed, she took a glimpse down and there on the floor lay a pile of thick black cables like a bunch of big noodles. The last thing she needed was to trip on that again, even if it could be far worse than that.

With his free hand, Frank pushed the door open and Charlie, Joey, and Dan congregated in that little room in anticipation of them.

“Hey, there she is!” Joey proclaimed, and he stood up and opened his arms for her. His dark lips grazed the side of her neck, much to the beating of her heart and her toes curling inside of her shoes.

“We'll get you in with no problem,” Charlie vowed to her; a clink on the floor caught their attention; she then peered past Joey and watched Charlie toss his drum sticks in the air, one after the other, and he caught them both in one hand.

“Looks like someone's been hangin' out with Zelda,” Sam remarked.

“We toured with those badass chicks for weeks after all,” Dan pointed out.

“Are they here?”

“They should be,” Frank told her.

“They were here last night, though,” said Joey.

“Oh, yeah, they were here last night,” Charlie added as he tossed one drum stick again.

“When they're here, though, we're gonna load up the whole place,” Billy told her. “They just draw in the crowds, more so than these fellas here.”

Joey then turned his head and peered out the door behind him.

“We spoke too soon,” he declared.

“Are they here?” Charlie asked him.

“Hey, what's goin' on?” Zelda's voice floated in from down the hall.

“Let's load up the place,” Dan said in a bold tone of voice, and he ducked towards the door.

“Load it up!” Charlie added as he clutched both drum sticks.

“Alright, we're gonna get loaded!” Joey cracked, and Frank, Sam, and Billy all burst out laughing at that. They bowed out of the room only to be greeted by Zelda and that bob of black hair slicked back from her face by a handful of gel and her arms and legs even more sinewy and strong than ever. She threw her arms around Sam, whose spine cracked at the feeling of Zelda's new found strength.

“Whoa, jeez—”

“Well, don't kill 'er, Zelda,” Dan advised her from behind her.

“I haven't seen her in so long it seems, though,” Zelda told him as she held back to let Sam breathe. She peered down at her legs, now toned and strong from those duct taped boots on her feet this whole entire time.

“My goodness,” Sam remarked.

“I feel like an Olympian with these things on now,” Zelda told her as she adjusted her black Guns N' Roses shirt, “it's like I run a marathon every night and my legs just get stronger.”

“Soon you'll be like Wonder Woman,” Frank declared.

“She already kinda is!” Morgan said with a laugh. “I mean, you guys saw her all this time, she's nuts now!”

With the arrival of the Cherry Suicides came an even larger crowd for themselves to behold before them. Sam lingered off to the side by herself, and away from the crowd, a spot that she had been in before but not at L'Amour, as she watched those four women take to the stage. Morgan's voice had grown stronger and more gravelly from the European tour, and indeed, Zelda's drumming had tightened and quickened. They really were transforming into a thrash band in their own rite.

That song, “Dead Witches”, had become a crowd favorite given it always turned into a ten minute long jam between Minerva and Zelda. The former always put one foot up on the speaker closest to her and bled out a solo to make Alex himself fall to his knees, while the latter never broke out a sweat whenever she hammered away at the drums.

Their signature song alongside “Day of the Dead” and Sam thought about the evening they debuted that at L'Amour. She had come full circle with them all.

Soon Anthrax took to the stage and Joey had removed his shirt and put on that little ball cap with the word “INJUN” inscribed inside with big bold lettering. Before they performed anything, Sam felt someone tap on her shoulder. She turned her head and there stood Chuck and Eric, both wrapped in heavy winter jackets.

“Hey, you guys!” she declared over the roar of the crowd.

“Hey, you—thought that was you standin' over here,” Eric said right into her ear.

“Got a little time off from recording today so we decided why not?” Chuck added. He then put his arm around her and held her close to him even though she knew that Tiffany was nearby herself. She knew it would be one of many hugs from Chuck more often from that point onward.

“Alright!” Joey bellowed into the microphone. “It's good to be back home, New York. We're Anthrax and we take no bullshit whatsoever.” He slung that white flying V guitar over his bare shoulder and it nearly knocked his hat off.

“Joey's got the right idea,” Chuck pointed out and he opened his jacket for something, and he set a black ball cap upon his head. On the inside of the bill, in spiked lettering, it read “Suicidal.”

“Where'd you get that?” Sam asked him.

“Some friends of ours called Suicidal Tendencies. We oughtta introduce you to them when you come out west.”

“This first song, the four of us had been throwing around while on tour in Europe,” Joey began again, that time with his hands clutched to the microphone head. “It's a cover—it's not ours, but I foresee it going on something new from us in the future. By a little French band called Trust—you guys'll like it. It's called 'Antisocial'.”

He played that first riff, and Sam turned her head and peered out the window near to them right as the snow was falling outside. Something about the way in which he played that riff accentuated the soft white out there. She could pick up some snow and toss it in the air as if it were confetti or glitter to that riff.

Charlie's kick drum beckoned a uniform clap from everyone in the audience. Frank joined in with them all for what felt like a full minute, and then Dan stopped them all with a grinding thrashy riff.

Joey played along and belted it out, the best he had ever sounded before.

Then there was that singsong catchy chorus: by the song's end, everyone in the room knew it.

“That's a hit,” Eric declared to her and Chuck.

“It totally is,” Chuck said as the room erupted in cheers.

The sound of a cover made Sam recall that one evening she and Joey lay side by side with each other.

“Hey, what was that song that Alex played?” she asked right into his ear.

“What song? There's a bunch of them.” Eric chuckled at that.

“No, I think we were in Providence together—yeah, we were! It was after the wedding, and you guys were out in the hallway and he played some riff from some band in Seattle.”

Eric hesitated for a second, and then he gasped at that.

“Oh! Oh, yeah, that was—that was—” He snapped his fingers as he struggled to recall it. “—damn it. I'll have to ask him about that because I know what you're talking about now. I remember it, it was cool! Kinda psychedelic and wandering.”

“Yeah, it was.” She thought of what Alex had said about the Wandering Jew at the sound of that last word. And even though Joey wasn't too keen on it, the very memory of laying there with him made her recall that song.

Anthrax played for a full hour that evening, to which they ended the show with “A Skeleton in the Closet”, which made Sam remember everything her mother had said to her. All the secrets left out in the open and she would have to sift through them all the while she balanced out her school work and going to hang with Testament more up in the Bay Area. As long as they were within range of the Bay Area, she could find a way over to visit them. If not, there had to be a way to them. There had to be a way over to see them.

All the secrets she had figured out with Joey, and yet there was still so much she hadn't figured out yet.

All the secrets she had figured out with Cliff, and yet there was still so much she never had the chance to figure out.

By the time Joey hit those high notes of “Gung Ho!” and Dan stood at the edge of the stage with his guitar pressed against his little body, Chuck tugged back on Sam and he and Eric took her to the backstage area.

“Whoa, what's going on?” she asked, taken aback.

“It was getting kinda rowdy there near us,” Chuck replied. “They're pretty much done, too.”

“Yeah, and here they come,” Eric pointed to the curtain right as Charlie and Frank bowed in there, drenched in sweat.

“Wow,” Sam told them.

“Phew!” Frank declared in a loud voice and pressed his hands to his hips; he then laughed at the euphoric feeling around them. Charlie followed it up with a loud whistle. Rosita hurried up to him and he put his arm around her and stuck his tongue down her throat.

Anthrax were going to be huge after that night. Sam was sure of it. It was just obvious to her that they were bound to become rock stars after that second night at L'Amour, even as Joey treated her to a little birthday gift that next Thursday on her day off.

“Not gonna make the same mistake Aurora did,” he vowed to her as he drove her up towards Syracuse. “Today's all about you, Sam I am.”

He had bought her a cupcake and a cup of latte from the bakery in North Syracuse and then spent a little bit of the afternoon with her down by the lake, even with the waters as black as the very night that awaited them later on. Joey huddled next to her with his head bowed and his hands tucked in his jacket pockets. His black curls fluttered about atop his head as if they were ribbons.

“How'd things go with Aurora, by the way?” he asked her at one point as she sipped on her coffee. “Because I tried callin' her the other night and she was just impossible to speak to.”

“She and I got into an argument,” Sam explained. “Well, I did most of the arguing. She just kind of stood there with the phone to her ear like a dumb idiot and I got really heated with her.”

He shook his head at that and then he looked out to the cold inky black waters beyond the railing. Silence fell over them. Silence except for the soft cold breeze through the pine trees off to the side and the gentle lapping of the lake down below. Sam took another sip of her coffee and relished in the warmth of it. She sighed through her nose and lingered closer to Joey. Times like that she knew she could stand in comfortable silence with him.

“Remember when we first met?” he began again with a clearing of his throat.

“Yeah, it was the first day I was here,” she recalled. “You and Frankie in the furniture store.”

“Mmhmm. I always thought of you as like the one who mirrored me when it came to moving. Except you've got more of a grasp on it than I do.”

“I don't think so,” she confessed. “You've moved several times before I did. It's just hard is all.”

“Hard work and hard going, too.”

She finished the rest of her coffee and then he cleared his throat once more, and rubbed his hands together.

“Wanna take a walk?” he suggested.

“Yes, please.”

Sam held the cup to her chest as they walked on to the pathway close to the water. Snow blanketed bushes lined the right side while a slope dropped down from the walkway on the left. Given Anthrax were going to be away during her spring break, she knew that this would be the last time she would see upstate New York in this snowy state. She glanced out past the snowy slope to the black waters. Nothing like it. Absolutely nothing like it, not even her memory of Lake Tahoe or Yosemite fulfilled the same feelings as that lake north of Syracuse and the forests all around the state.

“There's something so romantic about walking about upstate New York after a snowfall,” she noted.

“It's all the trees and the remoteness,” he said. “And just the way the sky is dark and the fog comes in from the lake up the road—Lake Ontario, I mean. At least the roads are clear, too. We can do whatever we want from here on out.”

Her last birthday there upstate with Joey and she had to make every second count with him. The last of her own skeletons in the closet for him as he did for her.

“You know,” she began again, “we're not too far from that old studio Stormtroopers recorded their album at, either.”

“No, we're not. Wanna go there?”

“Yeah, I want to show you something there.”

Within time, they reached the top of the pathway and within the line of sight of Joey's car. Given it had been some time since they had been there, Sam had to rack her brain for the way over to that little notch in the woods. It was also a bit of a drive but Joey himself didn't seem to mind however.

That familiar treeline emerged within view, as did that old ramshackle building before the partially collapsed sidewalk. A large snow drift piled up before the storm drain which meant Joey had to park a bit out in the street. Sam climbed out of her seat first and she led him past the drifts and towards that notch in the trees. Given a fresh blanket of snow had fallen upon them, she knew there was no way she could walk in through those trees, even with her boots on.

Joey peered in through the gap as well, and up to the canopy: all the branches collected together under the snow so it resembled to a lacy veil.

“The quiet place,” she remarked.

“The what?”

“Charlie and I found this little spot when Stormtroopers of Death were making their album a couple of summers ago. We hung out here when the sun was going down, too. We called it the quiet place because we went inside here to a clearing and it was dead silent.”

“Wow,” Joey breathed. He looked over his shoulder to the trees across the way. No one else around.

It had in fact become the quiet place.

“When you come back here, we should hang out here again,” he told her. “Hang out here and you can draw me while I'm in the trees.”

She giggled at that and they returned to his car once again. Once she buckled herself into the passenger seat, she caught a glimpse of Joey looking on at her with a thoughtful expression on his face.

“You know that song we do on Spreading the Disease?” he began. “Medusa?”

She hesitated. “Yes? Yes.”

“I don't remember the full mythos behind Medusa, but according to Scott, there's a star in the sky referred to as 'Medusa's head.' I don't remember the name of it, but we get the word 'alcohol' from it. Medusa was left hung out to dry after Athena turned her into the snake headed monster that we all know and love. And you know how booze makes you feel afterwards.”

“Oh, yeah, how it dries out your mouth and the back of your throat big time. Especially if it's a lot of booze, too.”

“Consider yourself Medusa after this,” he told her in a soft voice. “The way the snow outside here just tightened up your skin, but there's something else, though. Something I can't really put into words, like there's something to it. Kinda like Medusa herself.”

Her own reflection in the mirror before the first Anthrax show at L'Amour. Her own eyes as they stared back at her and the way her hair seemed far blacker than before. For a few seconds, she did in fact turn into Medusa there: she missed the snakes upon the head however. She brought her attention back to Joey and the stoic look upon his face. His brown eyes as they gazed back at her, like the cold stony stare of Medusa.

“Shall we head on back to the city?” he suggested.

“Yes please,” she declared, and he fired up the car and they began on back down the road to New York City and ultimately Hell's Kitchen once more. By that time, the cold gray sky overhead succumbed to even colder blackness. She knew Marla and Genie awaited her with her birthday dinner.

“You wanna spend the night at our place?” she offered him. “You did an awful lot of driving today.”

“I don't see why not,” he confessed with a shrug of his slender shoulders. “It might be the last time I do.” He unbuckled his seat belt and then he stopped right in his tracks. “By the way, d'you ever get into stained glass this term?”

Sam shook her head.

“Belinda's powers of convincing fell flat over the Christmas break,” she replied, “and so I missed the cut with there. I don't know if I can do it spring term, to be honest. If I do, then I might be ahead of the curve a bit because she's willing to teach me some tips and tricks on it all.”

“Excellent!” he said with that lopsided smile on his face.

He guided her back into the building and up to that apartment on the third floor. She opened the door where she was greeted by the look of joy on Marla's face and her open arms.

“Our birthday sister!” she declared as she held Sam close to her. Belinda stood up from the couch and joined in on the group hug.

“Our last little party together,” she said, and she brushed away a tear from her eye.

“What a lumpy number this is, though,” Sam told her with a straight face. “Twenty three.”

“Could be worse,” a man's voice near the door to the porch caught her attention. “Could be twenty four like me and Chuck this spring.”

“Or me in a couple of days for that matter,” said the other guy.

“Hey!” she declared as she looked on at the two of them. “Louie and Eric!”

Joey, who stood right behind them, shifted his weight at the sight of them there. Eric flashed her a wink and Louie leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs right then.

“They have something they want to tell you,” Marla announced to her. “Something pertaining to their new album.”

Eric nodded his head.

“We're calling it The New Order,” he told her.

“The New Order—” Sam started and then she nodded her head. “I like it, it's kinda mysterious. Like those old science fiction novels you'd read in school.”

“Exactly!”

“He and Chuck ran it by Zelda at the show the other day and she was like, 'that just sounds badass,' you know?” Louie said in a single breath; he had this look of disappointment on his face when the words left his lips at that.

“Hell yeah.”

“So we have a cake ready for you as well as some spaghetti Bolognese,” Marla told her right then. “Belinda just took it off of the heat right as you and Joey walked in.”

“Oh, boy!”

Joey rubbed his hands together and he ducked into the kitchen without a second thought. Belinda and Marla joined him, as did Eric. Sam turned to Louie with a serious look on her face.

“How are you feeling, by the way?” she asked him, to which he frowned and shook his head at that.

“What do you mean?”

“Like you were mentioned Zelda just a little bit ago. Is everything alright?”

And he pursed his lips together and lowered his gaze to the floor. It dawned on her right then.

“Don't tell me you told her,” she stated in a low voice.

“I kind of—had to,” he confessed with a shrug of his shoulders, and her heart sank at the sound of that.

“How'd she react to it?”

“Well, she slapped me across the face and then she kissed me right on the lips, and then she slapped me again.”

“Slapped you twice and then kissed you?”

“No, slapped, kissed, and slapped again. And when I say 'slapped again', I don't mean across the face.”

She gaped at him. They were still in love. So much here that was left wide open.

“Louie, sit tight,” she began with a raise of her finger. “I have an idea.”

“No, Sam—no. Besides, dinner's ready.”

“Well, seeing as I'm going to be back in California soon, I want to make myself at home ahead of time.”

She made her way into her room and she fetched her journal and one of her pencils. She was leaving for California come the end of July and even as she picked up her journal and that pencil, she wasn't ready to leave as of yet. Even when she first moved there, she had to begin on packing her things early on so things would run more smoothly once the time came. She wanted her room to remain as is right there; she returned to the living room with a bit of haste and Louie burst out laughing at the sight of it.

“Would you like me to pose for you?” he joked as he leaned back with his arms atop of the chair.

“Nah. Although, I do like that position you're in right now. With your hair sprawled over your shoulders like that. Very Greek godlike.”

“Who's a Greek god?” Belinda asked her as she returned to the room with a plate of food in one hand.

“Louie is. Wouldn't you agree, Bel? By the look of his hair over his shoulders like that.”

“Oh, yeah.” She beamed at her by the sound of that. “Anyways, there's a plate of spag bol waiting for you both in there.”

Louie almost jumped out of his chair at that, but Sam kept her mind on her bedroom behind her as she beat him to the kitchen. Marla served Joey up a plate of food and Sam lingered right next to him.

“I guess I'm gonna have to start packing it in soon,” she confessed to him in a low voice, and his face fell at that.

“I don't want you to go,” Joey begged her. “You gotta stay and hang with us.”

“I wish I could, Joey,” Sam told him as Marla handed both her and him plates of Bolognese with a solemn look on her face; neither of them were ready for the new order of things coming soon. “I genuinely wish I could.”

[imagine-all-the-imagines]

Flashback

A/N: I wrote this for @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan’s Star’s Follower Celebration. Sorry I got it in so close to the deadline, but also Happy Birthday! It took me a while to figure out how to use this word, but I like the way it came out. Hopefully you all do too! 

I chose the prompt ”Rubatosis – the unsettling awareness of your own heartbeat” with Peter Quill x Reader. So, Gamora isn’t in this at all, I’m going to say for the purpose of this story, she and Peter were never together. I have no clue where she is at this point, let’s say she’s on vacation.

Warnings: Panic attack, mentions of death and kidnapping, mentions of using your body to con people. If I missed anything, please let me know!

________________________________________________________________

Being a smuggler based in Xandar probably didn’t seem like the best idea to the overly cautious. But, for you, it was the best decision you had ever made. You were able to strike up a deal with the Nova Corps, any dangerous dealings would be reported to them, anonymously of course. You sent them a scrambled message and after some consideration, they accepted your proposal.

You had been running your business for a few years now, keeping to yourself and keeping your associates content. Your shop doubled as a workshop, you were one of the best mechanics around and you took pride in your ability to not have to lean on anyone for help. You always thought that if your parents had decided to stick around, they would be pretty impressed with you.

You were working in the shop one day when you heard your door open. Seeing who it was, you broke into a smile. “Rocket! Groot! My favorite guys! What can I do you for today?” You asked, wiping your hands off on a dirty rag.

Rocket and Groot walked up to you, Rocket giving you a stylized handshake, and Groot pulling you into a hug before offering you a flower from his palm. You accepted the flower and tucked it behind your ear, the fragility of it contrasting harshly with your tattered pants and well-worn jacket. Groot continued to produce flowers as you turned to Rocket.

“We got a job that we need to get ready for. And we need your help with something.” Rocket explained, looking around your shop.

You furrowed your brow and looked at Groot, “Hang on, you need my help? You guys are usually taking care of your own stuff, what you need me for?”

Groot looked down at you and shrugged, “I am Groot.”

You rolled your eyes, “Uh huh, like I believe that.”

“It’s true, Y/N. This time we really don’t know how to fix this one. We need you to come with us.” Rocket said coming back to you.

Groot placed an entire flower crown on top of your head and you smiled up at him, “Thanks Groot, I love these.” You faced Rocket, “This feels like a setup, not going to lie.”

Rocket looked at you, paw on his chest and let out a breath, “I am shocked and appalled that you would suggest such a thing. Now grab your tools and let’s go!”

You huffed and grabbed your go-bag filled with tools, mechanical and smuggler, and some extra clothes, just in case. “Alright, I’m ready.”

________________________________________________________________

As you, Rocket, and Groot made it to the hangar they said that their ship was docked in, you took in your surroundings. There weren’t many people out and about and it put you more at ease as the three of you joked and talked about previous runs that you had gone on.

When you got to the dock, you stopped. There in front of you was one of the nicest looking ships you had even seen. Something tugged on your memory, some reason that the ship looked incredibly familiar. That same thing caused you to get incredibly anxious made you want to get the hell out of the hangar.

It felt like your heartbeat was trying to beat out of your skin and you could hear it in your ears, the rapid thumping not doing anything to calm you down. Suddenly, you felt your world spinning and you were vaguely aware of Groot wrapping tendrils around you so that you wouldn’t hit the floor full force.

“Y/N? You ok?” You hear Rocket ask, though it’s incredibly muffled.

“I am Groot.” Groot said, sounding worried.

“Hey, what’s going on?” You hear a third voice join in.

“I don’t know, I got Y/N to help with the ship and she went down. I don’t know what caused it.” Rocket said, the concern finally coming through in his voice.

“Well, get her inside, she can go in my bed for now.” The mysterious voice said as you finally lost your struggle with unconsciousness.

________________________________________________________________

When you woke up, you noticed that you were in a metal room, looking suspiciously like a ship’s sleeping quarters. You shot up and went to get out of bed when you found yourself getting light headed. Lurching forward, you caught yourself on the doorframe and got the door open.

Going hand over hand along the walls, you felt yourself getting a bit stronger and feeling more like yourself. When you finally are able to stand on your own, you wander along the halls, trying to figure out just where you are.

As you round a corner, you bump into a solid wall of muscle and flesh. “Oh, shit!” You expect to fall backward, but an arm wraps around your waist.

“Well, look at that, I thought you’d never wake up Sleeping Beauty.” Says the man you bumped into.

You look up at him and have to catch your jaw before it drops to the floor. “I-Uh-Well, I’m awake now, who are you and where am I?”

The man smiled at you, “Well, you’re on the Milano, the ship you were coming to help fix, but instead decided to faint. I mean, I now she’s a pretty ship, but I’ve never seen that reaction before. And I’m Peter, but you can call me Star Lord.”

It all came back, seeing the ship and feeling as though you had been thrown back in time. You were seeing the red and blue coloring and suddenly, you were a teenager again, trying to run from the men chasing you.

You looked at the man in front of you and suddenly pushed him away, sprinting down the hall, trying to find your way out of the ship. When you finally found the door, you smashed your hand against the release and stumbled down the ramp, running into Groot and feeling the tendrils wrap gently around you for the second time that day.

“Hey! What’s your problem?” The man, Peter, said, rubbing the back of his head where it had banged against the wall when you pushed him.

You looked around, seeing the ship again, but it was different this time, not the red and blue that you had seen earlier, but a bright orange and blue. Had it always been orange and blue?

You saw your friends surrounding you, Rocket with his hands up, approaching you slowly, and Groot producing flowers down his arms.

You reached up and touched Groot’s face followed by Rocket’s. “I’m on Xandar. You are my friends.” You whispered, more to yourself than anything.

Looking up at Peter, you felt the guilty expression creep up on your face, “Peter, I’m so sorry, I suppose I didn’t make the best first impression. I’m Y/N, I guess I’m here to help you with the ship.”

Peter looked skeptically at you, “You sure you’re ok to do that? Not going to faint again are you?”

You glared at him, “No, I’m not, and I’m one of the best mechanics around here, you don’t want me to help, I’ll go.”

Rocket goes up to Quill and kicks him in the shin, “You dumbass, we need her.”

Groot slowly unravels his tendrils and readjusts the flower crown that had become askew, “I am Groot.” He said looking at you closely.

You nod at Groot, “It’s ok, just had a memory creep up. I’ll be ok.” You make your way up Peter, “So, what are you needing help with?”

________________________________________________________________

After the ships problem had been described, you got to work. Placing the flower crown off to the side, you pulled your hair back and opened a hatch to get to the wiring and mechanics on the inside.

As you worked, you got listened to a conversation between the crew members. A large man covered in tattoos was talking with Peter and Rocket, they were trying to explain to him a metaphor that had just been used. Peter tried to explain that when he had to wear a suit the last time he felt like he looked like a penguin.  You laughed as he insisted that it was impossible for Peter to be a penguin as he was most definitely a human being.

Peter heard your laugh and looked your way, “What are you laughing at? This is frustrating!”

You wiped off some of the dirt and grease and turned to the man, “Nothing, I’m just imagining a penguin with your utility belt and face mask on. The image is hilarious.”

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, it’s hilarious.” Peter said with a grimace, “How’s the ship doing?”

“She’s looking better every minute I work on her. Should be done soon, maybe half an hour or so.” You said, wiping your hand across your forehead, pushing the stray hairs back.

Peter nodded, “Want some help? I’ve had to fix up the ship a few times, I know some things.”

You looked at the man, “Sure, it would make it go faster.”

________________________________________________________________

About fifteen minutes into working with Peter, he cleared his throat, not looking at you, “So, do you want to talk about why you passed out when you saw my ship?”

“Not particularly.” You answered, tightening down a gear.

Peter made a humming noise, “You’re what, twenty nine? Thirty?”

“Twenty nine. Why?” You glanced at him momentarily before focusing on the mechanics in front of you again.

“I’m going to take a guess, ok?” Peter said while turning towards you.

Sighing, you turned towards Peter, “Guess away. I don’t think I could stop you if I wanted to.”

Peter gave you a slight smile, “I’m going to guess that you’re from Xandar, but you didn’t stay here, you came back a few years ago. Rocket told me that you traveled with them for a while, and you know a lot of other languages and that was before you got a translation chip. So, that means that you’re either incredibly good at picking up languages, or, the more likely scenario, you’ve traveled a lot.”

Peter nodded and looked at you, as if looking for an affirmation. You didn’t give him anything, just raised an eyebrow and urged him to continue.

“Ok, so far, so good in my book. Based on your age and the fact that you know all this information. And you know your way around lots of ships. Rocket and Groot told me about your shop and about your deal with Nova Corps. This means that you used to, or still do, some shady shit. I’m guessing that a woman like you doesn’t just decide to do shady shit. So I hypothesize that you were kidnapped/taken/sold as a child or teenager, and in order to stay safe, you learned how to hide by learning skills like languages, how to work on ships, anything to make you blend in.” Peter finished his thought with a determined single nod. “How did I do?”

You could feel your breathing start to accelerate and tears started to prick at your eyes, “You, uh, you did pretty good. Some things weren’t quite right. My parents just up and left while we were on a trip to Dervani when I was twelve, I had to figure out how to do a lot of things by myself. Then when I was fourteen, I was asleep and a ship landed outside the town. There was screaming and running and everyone was so scared. The people were running towards the town through the trees and I tried to get away, but I must have gotten turned around because when I stopped I was in front of this giant red and blue ship. The leader saw me and grabbed me, he said something to his crew members and then I was locked in this cell on the ship. I don’t know if any of the others survived. I never saw any of them again.”

This was the first time you had told anyone about this. It was easier than you thought it would have been. Something about the man in front you made you feel like you could trust him with your story.

“They used me for small missions at first, pickpocketing, getting into small spaces. But as I got older, more developed, they had me use my ‘presence’ to get goods across borders or onto other planets. Eventually I got out and continued to smuggle things for a price. I’m one of the best smugglers you’ve never heard of.” You finished with a shrug and saw Peter staring at you wide-eyed.

As the man continued to watch you, you began to get self-conscious, tucking your head down, you cleared throat and then turned back to the ship. “So, this should be the last part I needed to fix.” You tightened down the last bolt and then closed the hatch, “All done! I’ll leave you guys to get to whatever your next stop is.”

The sudden change in your demeanor seemed to snap Peter out of his funk. “Wait! Y/N! Come with us!” He ran up beside you, “We could always use an expert mechanic, plus you’d be able to travel and explore new worlds, you wouldn’t have to prove anything to us.”

Rocket seemed to pop up out of nowhere, “Wait, Peter is asking you to join? You have to! You’d love it, there’s so much cool stuff out there, and I promise we only get chased every five or so missions.”

“I am Groot.” Groot said gently, taking in your shocked expression.

Smiling slightly at the giant tree. “I mean, I would have to close my shop, and grab some of my stuff. I can’t just take off like this. What about my customers?”

Rocket shrugged, “Got it taken care of. When you and Star-Boy were fixing the ship and having your heart to heart, Groot and I changed your message system to say that you would be off planet for a while and we got all your stuff. You know, for a chick, you don’t have a lot of stuff.”

You looked at Rocket wide eyed, “I don’t know if I should be insulted or take that as a compliment.” You paused for a moment, “Well, I guess that settles it. When do we leave?”

Peter smiled at you and Groot put his hand on your shoulder with a smile. You smiled at Rocket, grabbing your flower crown from where you had set it down, “Not a setup, huh?”

Rocket shrugged as he started towards the ship, joining Drax, “What can I say, I like traveling with you.”

You looked at Peter, “You sure you want someone with this much baggage to join the group?”

Peter smiled as he ushered you and Groot into the ship, “One of these days remind me to tell you my story.”

The ship’s ramp closed as you all got settled. As Peter got the ship set up, you admired the interior. It truly was a beautiful ship.

“Hey, Y/N, best get buckled in, we’re headed out!” You heard Peter calling out to you.

You made your way to the front and sat in the chair beside Groot, adjusting the flower crown on your head. As you buckled in, the ship made its way up and you watched as your home got smaller and smaller until all the buildings blended into a mass.

As the ship made it out into space, you smiled to yourself, this was definitely the start of a new chapter in your life and you could not be more excited for it.

[thirtysecondsmilano]

The Importance of Video in 2024 for B2B Companies and Beyond

In the modern context of digital marketing, videos have become a crucial tool for B2B companies and for all those companies that want to create a greater perception of their brand and values. With the evolution of online platforms and the growing demand for visual content, presenting oneself with a well-made video is essential to attract and retain the audience's attention. This article will explore why it is important for companies to invest in videos and the importance of relying on a specialized video production agency.

Why Videos are Crucial in 2024

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Not all video production agencies are the same. It is crucial to choose one that has experience, creativity, and a deep understanding of the client's needs. Here are some key characteristics to consider:

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Example of Successful Collaboration

Consider an experienced surgeon: even the best surgeon needs a qualified support team to achieve excellent results. Similarly, a successful video production requires a well-coordinated team. Every team member, from the director to the cinematographer, plays a crucial role in the process.

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Don't let your company fall behind. In an increasingly competitive market, videos are no longer a luxury but a necessity. Trust industry professionals and transform how your brand communicates with the world.

[elisaphoenix13]

Stowaway (Ch.2)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Where are your trolls anyway?" Scott asks.

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

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

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

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

"Don't forget about Target."

"Dia is just as bad."

"Because of Cassie."

"Ok. Fair." Scott relents.

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

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

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

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

Hopefully not some secret weapon again.

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

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

"There are planets prettier than this one?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Wait...really?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Sounds big."

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

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

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

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

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

[colson-sixx]

Machine Gun Kelly, September 8th, 2019 in Milan (🇮🇹)

I was lucky enough to be able to see my favorite artist for the second time (first time was in 2017 and, although it was one of the best concerts I’ver been to, I only took like four pictures and one thirty-second video for living in the moment’s sake, which I ended up regretting a lot). So this time, I had a goal: to enjoy the concert at its fullest, while also taking a decent amount of photos and videos to look back to and cry about.  I arrived at the venue later than my anxious ass would have liked but, thanks to a mixture of luck and tactic, I somehow got fourth row (it changed a bit during the concert, at some point I was even third !!), which is a waaay better spot that I was expecting. I had an almost totally clear view of the stage and I’ll forver be grateful because, well, seeing the mist beautiful human of all from so close is nothing but a blessing.  I didn’t know anyone at the concert, so I only made some small talk with the people surrounding me, but let me tell you: I think this only made my overall experience better. Now, I know I’m weird by I have a hard time letting go; it’s difficult for me to really just have fun and not give a fuck about what others think of me. And not knowing anyone around me personally meant that nobody I actually cared about me was judging me, so I just went for it. And I had the time of my life. I danced and sang at the top of my lungs for the entire duration of the concert, even though I sometimes couldn’t breathe because of the crowd being so huge.  And Kells was so good. He was incredible. He owned the stage. I could tell that he genuinely loves performing and that’s what he was born to do. It was a sight to see.  His voice feels like home. And his smile is the purest thing I have ever seen in my life, I swear. He’s a softie on stage. And he was so funny, too. He established an incredible relationship with us: talking to the fans, joking around, sending kisses, throwing guitar picks,,,,just being his amazing self. It all felt so real.  My overall concert experience was more than awesome and I could write an entire book about it, so I’ll keep it short and tell you about my favorite three moments.  Well, obviously, one of my favorite parts was the Shout At The Devil cover...for pretty clear reasons ;) Kells playing drums is: beautiful. The energy. The whole vibe. Damn. At some point, to introduce 5:3666, he asked the audience for a joint in the cutest way: he started singing “I love Milano, I fucking love Milaaaaano. And I’d love Milano even more if Milano had some marijuana. Does Milano have some marijuana for me?? Where is it at?” and he made a really cute gesture and, well, I died. And my final favorite moment was when he started singing 27 (which, btw, has the most beautiful scenography) and I literally said “Dude, if you sing this now I’m going to cry my eyes out” out loud and the girl next to me (with whom I had never talked to) heard me and said “Same, I’ve been crying for the whole concert” and while Kells was singing on stage, I was singing with this girl. It was like we were dedicating the words to each other and I just felt such a strong connection. Music unites people. It really does.  It was the best concert ever. It was powerful. It was freeing. It was real.  Kells is a true artist and I will never forget the way he made me and every other person in the crowd feel. God bless Machine Gun Kelly. He deserves all the happiness in the world. 

And if you’re reading this, I hope you see your favorite artist live, too, because it’s one of the greatest joys in the world and you deserve it ❤️

[theoneandonlyowengrady]

We’ll Get Out of Here (2)

Description: (I feel like I should apologize for how long-awaited this sequel has been. Oops). A few months ago, you were kidnapped mid-battle from your friends The Guardians of the Galaxy. You never gave up hope that they would find you, but recently, prisoner in some strange lonely stretch of universe, you’ve been keen to give up.

Warnings: blood/gore, violence, fighting.

Word Count: 4,829

First Part

“Y/N!” Peter cried, sprinting so hard and fast that you could see the pain of his heart racing all over his face. He strained, reaching, screaming, grasping for you.

They pulled you back further still. They dropped you to the floor of their cold grey ship and the door began to close, Peter shooting the solid metal as you disappeared. You crawled forward, stretching, crawling, legs sore and tired.

“Peter...” You cried, banging your fist against the metal door as his shots rang out around you, echoing over the rumble of the engine.

You woke with a start, your eyes caked in dirt, sweat, and blood. Your jacket, a pillow beneath your head, was spread out beneath you now. Your hair rested in a matted bun atop your head, long and dirty. Your breathing was hard and labored, and your heart pained to be back in that dream, to see Peter again, to reach for him and maybe, just maybe, this time you would find his hand and he would pull you out. And then you could go back to Earth and stop waiting for the future to bring Earth back to you. You could live normal boring lives together in some desert or city, the events of the past far behind you.

“Oh-sixty-four, wake up,” a guard grunted, throwing some gross beige mush down next to you. “Rounds in thirty.”

You looked to your right and out the small porthole of your cell. The stars were far off in the blackness. Somewhere out there, you hoped the guardians were searching for you. You knew that they would find you. They would save you.

It’s not like you’d been pathetic and hadn’t tried saving yourself. You looked down to your wrist at the lightning-like scar that wiggled up your forearm, and then to the shackles on your ankles. There’s a tall price to pay for escaping in these parts, you knew that.

You took a forced bite of the breakfast mush and shoved it away. You had lot a lot of weight the last few months. You were weak and tired. So tired. You hoped they’d hurry and find you, because you weren’t sure how much longer you had the will to fight it all.

After a minute, you stood up, dizzy for a moment until you could get your bearings. You picked up your old leather jacket and wrapped it over yourself, shivering in the hard metallic cold of the ship.

You trudged through the halls with your guard at your side, his sickly green skin wet and slimy. The chains rattled against the floor. You wore an electric choker around your neck as well, and it left your head pointed up and stiff. They put it on every morning before you began your shift, just extra insurance against your escape.

“Don’t try anything dumb,” the guard said, shoving you forward and into a large, glass-domed room filled with dirt and other prisoners digging tirelessly.

“When I get out of here, you’ll be the first person I kill,” you spat, turning towards him angrily.

He chuckled. “If you last that long.”

He closed the gate on the big botanic room and you turned to the rest of the prisoners, watering and picking food from the bushes and digging in the dry dirt. The ship, you thought, was some kind of colony in the sky. You hadn’t seen the people that lived there often, but in the times you had they seemed naive, clean, and high-strung.

“Y/N,” one of the other prisoners said, slamming an old shovel into your gut, “you’re a digger today.”

You sighed and stared at the gate, and then turned your attention slowly to the dome.

“Peter,” you said, “I’m waiting.”

“Peter, I’m waiting,” Gamora snapped, steering the Milano through a gang of hostile aliens.

“Give me a damn second,” Peter yelled, “we have to wait for the right moment.”

“The right moment was five minutes go!” Gamora said, diving sharply down and around another enemy ship.

“Quill, I think I’m siding with the green one,” Rocket said, “I’m not in the mood to die a fiery death today.”

“Yes, I agree with the bunny rabbit,” Drax said, tensing.

“I am groot,” Groot said.

“Exactly!” Rocket agreed.

“Will you all shut up!” Peter shouted, aiming for the center of a large, black ship. “I need, like, two more seconds.”

Gamora rolled her eyes and continued flying forwards.

“Peter-” Rocket tried.

“We can’t kill them all! We still need to question them! These ships are the same mark as-”

“Peter,” Gamora said, her voice low. “We can’t help her if we’re dead.”

“We can’t help her if they’re dead,” he said after a moment.

After another second, Peter fired, the shot ringing through space and colliding with the center of the big black ship. An electric shock pulsed throughout the fleet and left the ships disabled all around them.

Gamora took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Rocket dropped his head to his hands.

“I am Groot.”

Peter sat back and smiled. “Yeah, now we’ve got a lead.”

The screen in front of them buzzed for a minute, and then a strange face clicked on and flickered before them.

“We’re the Guardians of the Galaxy,” Peter said, “prepare to be boarded.”

The Guardians boarded the main ship, guns drawn, Peter in the lead.

“And to what do we owe the pleasure?” The old, wrinkly alien said, lips perched as he watched the group approach.

“We have some questions about an attack a few months ago,” Gamora said, “it involved a ship just like one of your fleet, and they took one of ours hostage.”

The alien threw his head back and chuckled. “We have thousands of ships in our fleet like those, and everyday there are new people taken aboard. My guess is the prisoner died long ago. Not many survive.”

Peter clenched his jaw and took a step forward. Rocket shoved his claws into his leg and held him back.

“You don’t understand,” Gamora said, “we’re going to need you to look up some specifics.”

Drax tightened his grip on his gun and aimed it promptly at the aliens head. The mood of the room shifted and darkened.

“I’ll need a location.”

“A dwarf planet not too far from here. We landed on a gang of thugs like yourself. We were hired for the job.”

The alien man sighed, “then it does truly seem like these events should be in your job description.”

Peter stepped forward and punched him hard in the face.

The man rubbed his hand along his jaw and sighed, eyeing Quill.

“This must be a touchy subject for you, boy,” he said.

“Give us the information we need, or I blow up this entire fleet.”

The man thought for a moment, and then conceded. “There was a report of an attack on a shuttle by a small group on a nearby dwarf planet. A few casualties, one prisoner. But as far as I know, the ship encountered the Jitauri and blew up not one week after that event. There wasn’t a report of the prisoner being dropped off.”

Peter swallowed.

“Where would they drop the prisoner off?” Gamora asked.

“Anywhere from here to the other side of the universe. We’re everywhere.”

“Let me try again,” Gamora grunted, “where between the explosion and the planet could they have dropped the prisoner off?”

The man sighed. “They couldn’t have,” he said, “your friend is dead.”

Peter cried out and threw another punch at the man, tears welling in his eyes as Drax and Rocket reached to hold him back.

You dug all day. Hundred of little holes. So many new and strange plants growing from them. Sweat dripped from your forehead and you sighed, looking up to the sky.

“Still waiting for your friends?” Another prisoner asked. “If they’re gonna face this fleet, good luck to them.”

“They’ll be fine,” you said mindlessly, still staring at the stars above the glass dome. “Stronger then people expect.”

“I hope so,” the other prisoner said, “if they’re coming for you, maybe they can free all of us.”

You snapped back to reality and looked to the prisoner talking to you. It was a girl around your age, with long orange hair braided back and around her head. Her eyes were far apart and her skin was pale and freckly with an undertone of blue. She smiled sadly at you.

“Do you think they’re still looking?” She asked.

You looked at her and at the sky, and then back to her. She'd been here much longer than you.

A little bit of doubt began to creep into your mind. It had been months, and you knew you hadn’t gone that far. About two days travel on the ship that took you here. And this was a big place, and the stars had stayed in the same positioning the entire time. You hadn’t moved. So why hadn’t Peter found you yet?

You sat in the dirt, watching everybody work as you took a short break. You sang to yourself, your mouth dry and lips chapped. Your voice cracked and whispered.

“I’m not in love...”

You felt the tears rising under your arms and up into your eyes.

“So don’t forget it... It’s just a silly phase I’m going through...”

You tried to imagine Peter’s touch. That night, the night you were taken, he was sleeping next to you. When you woke up, he was flying the ship, and you were alone. You’d give anything to have woken up besides him that last day. You kept singing.

You let your head fall against the wall behind you.

“And just because... I call you up... Don’t get me wrong, don’t think you’ve got it made... I’m not in love...”

Peter rested his head against the window and watched the stars pass as they raced back towards the dwarf planet they left long ago. The song played on around him, floating through the air like an old promise.

Gamora sat next to him and placed a hand on his knee.

“Peter?”

He grunted, still staring out the window.

“Peter, are you okay?”

He didn’t answer.

“Peter, we’ll search the radius of the planet. After that, we can try and find the wreckage of the ship. But really, all we can find now is closure.”

He moved his eyes and found hers, glazed and sad. Empty.

“You believe him? That asshole? You think she’s dead?”

Gamora thought about her words carefully. “We’ve been looking for a long time, Peter... If that ship was destroyed that fast... And you know she would’ve fought back. What are the chances that-”

Peter tensed. “Well we’re here now, aren’t we? So the chances are pretty good that this would all happen. And I can’t give up.”

“I know, and that’s why we’re scanning, and searching, and why we’ll find the wreckage, whatever is left of it-”

“So you’re looking for a body now?” Peter asked. He shook his head, tears welling in his eyes.

I’m not in love.

Gamora stayed quiet. She lifted up a gentle hand and brushed away some of his fluffy curls. “I’m looking for closure.”

Peter turned his face gently back towards hers, closer now. A few seconds of silence passed before he fell forward, leaning gently in towards her. He kissed her, the tears falling from his closed eyes and down his cheeks as the universe danced in the window behind them.

I keep your picture... Upon the wall... It hides a nasty stain that's lying there...

He placed a hand on her neck, just below her jaw, more tears peaking through his squinted eyes.

I know you know it doesn't mean that much to me...

“Peter!” Rocket called, “the scanners picked something up! There’s a fleet base about two days south of the planet! They might’ve left her there!”

Peter pulled himself away from Gamora, his cheeks soaked in salty tears. She blinked for a moment, sad.

“Let’s go. Top speed.” Peter stood and walked away from Gamora, who turned her attention to the window at her left.

I'm not in love... So don't forget it... It's just a silly phase I'm going through...

The song echoed out around them as they sped off into the reaches of space.

The next week you awoke from a relatively sleepless night. The shackles on your ankles ached and stirred as you moved. You stared out the window when you couldn’t sleep, hoping to see the milano fly up, Peter just out of reach.

The same nightmare of the night they took you came again, and Peter’s face was blurry now. You tried to remember it, to remember his voice and his hands, but it was all so far off now. How far away were they? Had they given up?

You pressed a hand against the cool glass of the porthole and felt a tear fall form your eye, draining on the floor at your head. Your jacket served as a blanket tonight, shielding you from the stark cold.

There was a rumble that shook the ground. Other prisoners stood up in their cells and called out.

“Shut up!” The guard shouted, “shut up!”

You struggled weakly to your feet, wrapping your hands around the hard bars of your cell. White-knunckled, you pulled yourself up to your feet, your knees shaking.

“What’s going on?” You tried, your voice weak and scratchy.

“None of your business, oh-sixty-four,” the guard said, banging the bars and your fingers, “step back. Back!”

You cringed, pulling your fingers into your chest. The floor shook again, and more guards ran down the hall.

Across the hall, you found the eyes of the orange-haired girl sitting in front of the bars of her cell. She had dried dirt smeared down her cheek, covering her soft pale-blue lips.

You turned and scrambled for your porthole, pressing your hands flat against it as you tried to look around.

“Peter,” you tried, your voice breaking. “Peter.”

The ground shook again, sending you to the floor, dizzy and and weak.

The milano shook restlessly as Rocket steered straight for the giant ship. A big glass dome decorated the center of it, reflecting the light of the stars.

“What is this place?” Rocket asked, leaning forward.

“A colony,” Gamora said, “he probably didn’t mention it because there’s civilians. We need to find a safe way to do this.”

Peter watched Gamora. Gamora kept her eyes trained forward.

“We sneak in,” Peter said.

“Well we’re already being shot at,” Rocket said, the milano shaking.

“Then we fight,” Peter said.

Rocket began firing at the approaching ships, a few of them spiraling out in flames. They dodged and swung, speeding around the colony in a blaze.

Peter swallowed, watching Gamora and the huge ship, the dome of glass stretching out over the center.

“Peter, I’m gonna drop you guys real quick once I get an opening. Get in there, blend in, hide, and try and find her.” Rocket yelled over the firing, surging forwards towards and open bay on the big colony ship.

Rocket dove towards the bay, Peter, Gamora, and Drax standing at the opening door, clicking their masks on.

They jumped out, flying towards the opening fast. Peter took the lead, speeding down towards the ship. He landed with a thump, rolling forwards until he slammed into a wall at the opposite end of the bay. Gamora and Drax followed.

They entered the ship, their masks dissolving as they clicked them off. Peter glanced back and Gamora and pressed his lips together, letting out a deep breath.

“Y/n,” peter whispered, pushing forward.

Guards were still running passed your cell.

“Do you wanna get out?” You asked, looking at the orange-haired girl across from you. She thought for a moment, and then quickly jumped to her feet and nodded firmly.

“I’m gonna need your help,” you said, “I’ve got these chains.”

She nodded again, holding onto the bars with both hands.

As a guard sprinted by, you reached out a hand and snagged a set of keys, quickly rolling backwards into the darkness of your cell. You fiddled with them, your hands shaking from weakness.

“God, Peter, I hope this is you,” you muttered, reaching outside of your cell to try and unlock the door. “Tell me if anybody is coming,” you said to the girl.

“Okay,” she said, “be quick.”

You tried key after key, shaking and fighting against your own strain to unlock your cell. After a minute, the lock clicked and the door fell ajar. You grabbed your jacket and wrapped it around you, sliding out the door and closing it behind you. You glanced up and down the long hall of cells and took the keys to the orange girls cell.

“They’ll kill us,” she said frantically, “I’m afraid.”

You reached a gentle hand through the bars and grabbed her wrist. “It’s gonna be okay. No matter what happens, we’re getting off this ship.”

She nodded, watching your eyes with a sense of hopelessness. Her door clicked open, and she slid out beside you. You closed it silently.

“Hey!” Another prisoner yelled. “Hey! Us too!”

You looked down the hall at all the desperate hands, skinny and dirty and desperate. You slid the keys to the prisoner that cried out and grabbed the orange-haired girls hand, pulling her through the hall. Doors clicked and flew open behind you both as you sprinted, prisoners joining you in your race to freedom.

“We’ve got a code red just off bay three,” a voice said, garbled through a communicator, just passed a turn ahead of you. You held out an arm to stop the people behind you, slamming yourself against the wall. You put a finger over your lips.

“Three invaders, all of humanoid descent, one green-skinned with red hair, one grey-skinned, one wearing a long cloak-”

You reached around the corner and locked your arm around the neck of the guard. He reached up and grabbed at your arm, clawing at your skin. The orange-haired girl grabbed him and helped you pull him to the ground. After a moment of wrestling, you found your way on top of him, all of your weight down on your forearm just over his neck.

“Three invaders-” you said, exasperated, “who are they?”

You felt hope trickled back in. You glanced up at the other prisoners, watching intently.

The guard gurgled and choked, flailing against the floor. Spit and sweat dripped from your chin and onto his face, and after a second his body fell still. You clenched your jaw and took a few deep breaths, standing up quickly. You rolled your shoulders and cracked your neck, the chains at your feet rattling against the metal.

With the band of prisoners behind you, another guard rounded the corner. You sent your elbow up into their face, your chains hitting the floor.

A soldier slammed backwards into a wall as Peter pulled his elbow back from his head. He grabbed him by the shoulders and slammed his knee up into his chest. He collapsed to the ground.

“Peter, I thought we were blending in,” Gamora whispered.

Peter look down at the bloodied soldier and dragged him behind a corner. He wiped off his hands and turned forwards, and empty hall stretching out before him.

“We’ve got three invaders, all of humanoid descent, one green-skinned with red hair, one grey-skinned, one wearing a long cloak-”

Drax grabbed onto  loose pipe in the ceiling and swung backwards, his legs stretching forwards just as a guard came around a bend. The guard flew back and slammed down on the cold ground, his communicator sliding across the hall.

A weak voice cut through the static, just barely audible.

“Who are they?”

Peter stopped, his ears twitching at the sound. His lips parted as he bent down to pick up the narrow watch, the voice breaking through the static.

“Peter?” Gamora asked, turning away from Drax as he pummeled the guard.

Peter stared down at the watch, waiting.

“Peter-” Gamora tried, “we need to go. Now.”

The static on the watch cut off and died. Peter looked up at Gamora, clenching his jaw and dropping the broken communicator to the ground with a clank.

The chains hit the ground.

You searched the guards on the ground for a key to set yourself free, but there was none.

“We need to keep moving,” you wheezed, pulling yourself around the turn.

“Y/n,” The orange-haired girl said, “if this is your friends-”

“It is,” you said, nodding, breathing frantically.

“They’ll find you. You’re in no shape to fight. They will find you. Come with us. We can get out.”

You looked over all of the other prisoners, all small and tired. They watched your every movement, every twitch and breath you took.

“If they’re on this ship, they’re in just as much danger as we are. I’ve never left them behind before-” You thought back to your dream, to the face Peter made as the doors shut in the shuttle and swept you away. You had left them then. That day, you didn’t fight hard enough, and you left them.

“You guys go,” you said after a moment of silence, “get to safety. Steal shuttles. Kick ass. Do whatever you can to get out and get home. I have to do this.”

The girl shook her head. “You don’t owe anybody anything, Y/n.”

You looked down, a drop of blood falling from your nose. You found her eyes. “I owe Peter.”

Blood dripped from Peter’s hand as another soldier fell to the ground.

The three rounded another corner and entered the big glass dome. A makeshift field of dirt and plants spread out before them, abandoned now and drenched in a red hue from the alarms they had set off.

A man lay in the dirt, his ankles in chains. there was a steal collar around his neck, as well as cuffs around his wrists. His eyes stared up into nothingness. Peter swallowed over the lump in his throat and pushed through the dirt.

“Peter, we need to find her fast,” Gamora said.

Peter ignored her and ripped up the plants, kicked the dirt up into the air. A smaller door on the other side of the dome opened, and a group of guards in all-black walked through, their boots crunching on the ground.

Peter reached under his cloak and pulled out his two guns, one for each hand.

You watched as the prisoners went in the opposite direction of you, towards the shuttles. There were so many of them, some of them carry rusty bars and others weapons from the guards. You knew you had done something right by them, setting them free. Nobody could stop them now.

You made your way towards the dome. Knowing how they all thought, you figured they would go for the most identifiable place. Your chains rattled as you limped through the hall, nose bleeding and head pounding.

“It’s just a silly phase I’m going through...” you sang to yourself, “and just because... I call you up... don’t get me wrong, don’t think you've got it made...”

There were shots ahead of you, behind the small door where the prisoners entered the big dome. You looked back one last time.

It was too late to join the others.

You kept singing, squeezing your tired eyes shut as you listened to the sound of shots firing.

Gamora ran up and wrapped her legs around the neck of a guard, throwing him to the ground. As she held him down, Peter sent a shot into his shoulder. He spun and shot a few more times, more guards and soldiers pouring in. Distantly, he could hear people screaming.

Dirt and plants exploded around him, fire erupting on the trees along the walls. The dome above was crystal clear, the stars around the ship shining bright and watching casually.

Drax pushed a small group soldiers into the wall over and over, leaving a giant dent in the metal.

“State your business!” a soldier screamed, shoving a gun into the back of Peter’s head.

The room began to fall quiet, the rest of the soldiers pinning their weapons on the three of them. Peter tucked his guns away at his side and put his hands up, his eyes finding Gamora’s.

“We’re looking for someone,” he said, brows furrowing.

The guard pressed the gun into his head.

Through the quiet, Gamora could just barely hear the sound of singing. She turned her head, listening carefully.

“I’m not in love...” You sang, more like a zombie now than anything else. The shots had died down. You limped still, chains dragging as you sang.

Peter could hear you now too. So could the rest of the guards.

As the door rose open, Peter saw you standing there, skinny and broken and chained, nose dripping blood. His lips parted and his breathing sped up. Gamora and Drax turned.

You found his eyes. He stood there with his hands in the air, guns pointed at him from ten different angles. 

“It’s just a silly phase I’m going through.”

The soldiers and guards looked at you, perplexed.

Your usual guard turned to you, eyes deadly.

“Oh-sixty-four!” The guard shouted, huffing towards you in the doorway.

You pressed your lips together, Peter’s eyes finding yours. Your heart flooded, seeing his face. His hair, curled so gently. Scratchy beard, pink lips.

The guard reached out for you.

You mustered up all your strength and punched him in the face, his gun falling from his hands. In that moment, Peter ducked and turned, tackling the soldier behind him. Shots erupted once again.

You dove and slide across the dirt for the gun, wrapping your fingers around the cold handle. You turned and pointed it at your guard.

“I told you, you would be the first person I killed.” You pressed the trigger, the shot sending you falling backwards as the guard crumbled lifeless to the ground.

You lay there, looking up at the stars. You thought about that fateful day on the dwarf planet, when they took you. How badly Peter wanted to save you. You felt safe in that split-second memory.

But then there was a knife in your side, and you gaged suddenly, crying out.

“Y/N!” Peter called, ripping out his guns and shooting in every direction. Peter screaming, his fists blazing and shifting as he filled with rage.

He shouted, and every soldier and guard around him fell to the ground. Gamora tackled the soldier that stabbed you, sending a shot through his heart.

You looked up at the sky.

Peter stared down at his hands, the flames fading now. Drax watched him, confused.

You smiled, blood welling up behind your teeth.

“Y/n,” Gamora whispered, placing a hand in your hair.

“You- you- you found me-” you struggled, shaking. “Jeez, can you get me out of these chains?”

Gamora tried to smile, her lip quivering. She shot at the chains and they fell from your ankles, into the dirt.

“Y/n,” Peter said, falling to his knees at your side. Your heart surged with happiness.

“I knew you’d find me, Peter,” you said, finding his eyes. He was crying. You smiled.

You felt his arms wrap around you and lift you, the stars somewhat closer. The memory blurs after that- he was running, carrying you. He was warm. So warm. And you were cold, still. 

“We’ll get out of here,” Peter whispered, placing a mask over your face. “Don’t worry, Y/n. We’ll get out of here. We’ll get- We’ll get out of here.”

You let your head roll back as the void of space confronted you with no walls to protect you.

You woke up the way you had fallen asleep, in Peter’s arms.

Your body was sore and tired. Your ankles burned from the freedom from the chains. There was stiff gauze wrapped around your midsection.

Peter was so warm, and he smelled like home. Even the lights of the milano seemed welcoming.

“Y/n,” Peter said, sitting up slightly to look into your eyes.

“Peter,” you said with a sigh.

“I thought you were dead. I thought I’d lost you.”

You smiled. “I thought you’d given up on me.”

Peter pressed his forehead to yours and closed his eyes. “I love you. I love you, Y/n.”

You pressed your lips to his. “You found me.”

He pulled you into his arms, gently tracing circles on the exposed skin of your stomach.

“When we get to Earth, I don’t want to live on a farm,” you whispered, your voice hoarse.

“That’s fine,” he said, “farms are overrated. All I need is a park and some birds to feed.”

You thought back to that fateful day one last time, and you smiled, sinking into Peter’s warmth.

“What a simple man.”

[turnipsummer14-blog]

Christmas gift guide: what you can order just FOUR days before December 25th

Still have presents to buy? The best Christmas gifts for last-minute shoppers that will arrive in time for December 25th - and they cost as little as £10

Vouchers are the way to go if you're sweating slightly about presents arriving in time for the big day

Online retailers are still offering presents with a guarantee of arriving at your door by the 24th December

Our picks include a day out at The Bear Grylls Adventure in Birmingham to hand-made chocolate truffles

Cost-conscious gifts include engraved perfume from £35 a bottle...and beer in the post for £29.90

By Jo Tweedy For Mailonline

Published: 07:50 GMT, 21 December 2018 | Updated: 15:21 GMT, 21 December 2018

Advertisement

The man in red is already packing up his sleigh...but what if, with just four days until the big December 25th, your present bag is still dismally bare?

Fear not, for online shopping truly offers last-minute Larrys a life-line, for there's a whole raft of internet purchases that can be made on December 21st...and still find their way to your loved one well in time for Christmas Day. Zero to hero in the click of a mouse!

Here, Femail rounds up the best last-gasp purchases you can still make... 

UNDER £50

Nuxe Christmas cracker featuring four mini products £10.00

Ideal for travellers looking for some soothing treats in a smaller size, this Nuxe gift-set includes mini versions of luxurious products including a hand and nail cream, a honey face cream and a dry oil splash.  

Order by 4pm on the 23rd (£4.95 charge) for next-day delivery 

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Hand-made truffles including a Brussels sprout flavour  £10.00

The sophisticated alternative to a selection box? Hand-made chocolate truffles with a Christmas theme include Raspberry Champagne, Prosecco, Milk Champagne and, wait for it, Brussel Sprouts! The box is geometric-trendy too.   

Order by By 3pm on the 21st for tracked next day delivery 

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Tickets to see the Nutcracker live at London's Albert Hall   From £35.00

Forget Hollywood's version, the Nutcracker will play out to awe-struck crowds from the 28th to the 31st December at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The best news? You can pick tickets up straight from the box office... perfect for johnny come-latelys.

Order online and receive by post or direct at the box office 

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Commemorative First World War cut-glass Tommy figure  £29.99

Made by veterans, all profits from this commemorative WW1 Tommy figure go to charities across the military and mental health sector. This 10"/25cm high Perspex Tommy figure is delivered in beautiful packaging. This would be a lovely gift for many, especially to commemorate the centenary of the end of the First World War this year. 

Order by December 21 for delivery before Christmas

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Tile Pro device to stop you losing keys and phones  £30

This handy device is ideal for keeping track of items that easily get lost including house keys and luggage. The tile uses Bluetooth to make a loud sound that identifies the location of a lost item as well as shows positioning on a map. 

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Braun Series 3 ProSkin 3080s electronic shaver £49.99

Perfect for the man on the go, the Braun Series 3 ProSkin 3080s has advanced MircoComb technology that reduces shaving time by guiding hair into the cutting element, while the two SensoFoils adapt to every contour to offer extreme shaving comfort and precision. Order with standard delivery by December 21, or next day delivery on December 23. 

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Faux fur cushions  £12.99

These luxury faux fur cushions are the ideal home accessory fur modern living spaces. Their plush exterior is a comfort to feel and their attractive look will compliment your room with a stylish edge.

Order by December 21 for delivery before Christmas.

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Showtime Alphabet Collection Cushions  £31.99

Featuring all 26 letters of the alphabet and numbers 1-9, the playful, vintage font is reminiscent of traditional circus typography combined with a modern day palette.

Order by December 21 for delivery before Christmas. 

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The Glenrothes Single Malt Scotch Whisky  £40.95

A Glenrothes 12 Year Old in classic style: fruity and sweet. Aged solely in sherry-seasoned casks, this Speyside whisky has notes of vanilla, melon, banana and cinnamon.

Order by 7pm on December 21 with express delivery for Christmas Eve delivery. 

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Gintuition Set £27

Created for all gin fans, this selection of 3 great gin glasses helps you to discover and enjoy the best tasting gin experience. A classic highball and on-trend copa stem are complimented by the stylish martini cocktail. 

Order by 11.30am on December 21 for Christmas Eve delivery. 

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Birchbox gift subscription  £30 every 3 months

Treat someone to 3, 6 or 12 months of beauty discoveries and they'll receive a monthly delivery of 5 luxe beauty treats straight to their door. 

It really is the gift that keep on giving - and the instantly printable certificate means it is great for last minute presents, all the way up to December 24th! 

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Bruno Paillard Brut Premiere Cuvee NV Champagne  £33.95

Brut Premiére Cuvée NV is Bruno Paillard’s flagship Champagne. This lively non-vintage is made exclusively from the first pressing of the grapes (the purest juice) and is a blend of wine from thirty-two villages, all vinified separately. 

Delivery time in London is two hours, and one day delivery is available throughout the rest of the country. 

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Mamont Vodka available to order until December 23rd £31.99

Presented in an ornate Mammoth tusk bottle, reminiscent of its Siberian roots, Mamont is the perfect gift or party pleaser this winter. Produced in limited small batches, Mamont Vodka is an ultra-premium, crystal clear spirit. Next day delivery is available so order by December 23.

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Jameson Caskmates Stout Edition  £20

Jameson whiskey finished in craft stout-seasoned barrels from a local brewery, the stout-cask finish accentuates Jameson’s trademark smoothness with additional rich flavours of chocolate, coffee and butterscotch. 

Order by December 21 for Christmas delivery.

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Birchbox Man Travel Bag  £27

The perfect gift for the man in your life, you'll find everything he needs for on-the-go grooming inside this limited edition bag. From a cleanse-and-moisturise to a cosy pair of socks, we've got his impromptu getaways taken care of. 

Order by 11.59pm on December 21 for delivery before Christmas. 

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£50-£100

WD 2 TB My Passport Portable Hard Drive  £84.99

The My Passport portable drive is trusted to store the massive amounts of photos, videos and music you love; available in an array of vibrant, fun colors, the sleek style fits comfortably in the palm of your hand, so you can easily take your treasured content everywhere you go. 

Order by December 21 for delivery by Christmas Eve.

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Bear Grylls Adventure NEC  £80

Inspired by the adventurer's real-life expeditions, the Bear Grylls Adventure at Birmingham's NEC opened in September. This particular package offers a 90-minute indoor skydiving experience, an hour on the High Ropes, a go on the free fall tunnel and a zip-lining experience. Other experience packages are available. 

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 Learn to make bread From £75

Bread Angels specialise in making a whole variety of bread sold in the local community. 

Expert teachers also offer four-hour courses across the UK, with gift vouchers for classes starting from £75, with everything from basic breads to sourdough and grissini on the menu. 

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Private dance lessons £54 an hour

Know a Strictly fan who would appreciate a chance to dance? Treat them to a private lesson, learning choreography to their favourite song, with a professional teacher.  Vouchers are for two people and available across the UK. 

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Dry pouch  £65

Newly launched, Red Original’s ‘Dry Pouch’ has been designed to keep wallets, phones and keys completely protected (throw it against a wall and all will remain safe and sound inside) and waterproof (plus it floats) with a YKK zip which will never rust, corrode or let water in. It can be attached through a belt or onto a board, boat, bike etc. Ideal for boating, swimming, skiing. This is a bum bag that a man would actually wear! 

Order by December 21 for delivery before Christmas. 

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KODAK Mini Shot Instant Camera  £84.99

Experience super high quality image processing and super-fast printing with the NEW Mini Shot Instant Camera from KODAK. Featuring powerful patented 4Pass Printing Technology, this 10-megapixel wonder enables you to aim, snap and print gorgeous credit-card-sized photos from the palm of your hand. 

Order by end of play December 21 for delivery before Christmas. 

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Milano Velvet Armchair in teal  £89.99

The ICON® Milano Armchair offers a rich depth of colour and texture that give this soft seat its soulful personality. Its elegantly supportive form and clean lines are waiting to envelope you in its shimmering velvet fabric. Lift and move this lightweight lovely wherever you wish using its matching velvet handle and its resilient fabric base to rest on. 

Order on December 21 for delivery before Christmas. 

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House of Marley No Bounds Bluetooth Speaker  £59.99

The No Bounds is our most rugged outdoor bluetooth speaker, crafted with sustainable cork to be as natural as its intended environment. The 4-colour speaker series is water and dust-proof, and each No Bounds boasts a 10-hour battery life which can be charged from flat in just 2 hours.  

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Over £100 

Dyson Supersonic™ Hair Dryer  £299.99

The Dyson Supersonic is engineered for balance, with a motor that sits in the handle, for a new kind of drying experience. A glass bead thermistor measures the air temperature 20 times per second, guarding against extreme heat damage to protect natural shine. It’s acoustically tuned for conversation. The powerful motor is tuned to produce one inaudible frequency.  

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Samsung Galaxy Watch  £279

Always stay connected with the Samsung Galaxy watch. You can receive notifications and calls right on your wrist so you'll always know when your loved ones are trying to reach you. Ideal if you're prone to leaving your phone on silent or not it's not always in pocket.

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Dartington Crystal – Ships Decanter  £115

This classic decanter is a stylish way to keep and present your spirits. The handmade stopper of this crystal decanter creates an airtight seal for your drink. 

Order by 11.30am on December 21 for Christmas Eve delivery

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Kobo Forma  £239.99

With no advertising and no interruptions, the Kobo Forma has been created to provide a great, relaxing reading experience. The device has handy page turn buttons, is bath friendly and has been created with ComfortLight PRO, which provides adjustable brightness and colour temperature to help reduce strain on your eyes.  

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FLIR ONE Pro  £440

The FLIR ONE Pro helps you find invisible problems faster than ever with thermal imagining, whether you're inspecting electrical panels, troubleshooting mechanical systems, looking for HVAC problems, or finding water damage.  

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Sipsmith annual gin subscription  £180

A bi-monthly subscription sends exclusive and delicious flavours of Sipsmith gin every other month. Each box contains 2x 20cl bottles and include flavours such as Black Maple Gin, Pomegranate Gin Liqueur and Bonfire Gin...

Order online before 24th Dec to guarantee January deliveries 

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Go Pro Hero 7 £179.99

Say hello to the Go Pro Hero 7, the perfect partner on any adventure. It’s tough, tiny and totally waterproof so it can go wherever you do. An intuitive touch screen makes it simple to get great shots. Just swipe and tap. Use the photo timer to grab a sweet selfie. You can even shoot vertically then add your photos and videos right to your Instagram Story. 

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Dell G3 17  £849

17" gaming laptop engineered with NVIDIA GeForce discrete graphics, 8th Gen Intel processors and thin design for the ultimate immersive gaming experience. 

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Oculus Go £199

Easily enter virtual reality with no PC or wires attached. Oculus Go is a standalone VR headset made to fit you. Designed with breathable fabrics, adjustable straps and our best lenses yet.  

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Bose SoundSport Free  £179.95

Get clear, powerful sound from our first truly wireless in-ear headphones. They're engineered to stay in place and stay comfortable. We've packed them full of technologies so you can push your workout to the next level. 

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ASUS ZenBook Pro UX580  £1,899.99

The stylish and powerful ASUS ZenBook Pro UX580 has been designed with a 15.6” Ultra HD display, an 8th generation Intel Core i7 processor and 16GB RAM. It will boot up Windows 10 in no time and enable you to fly through any work projects, while the GeForce GTX 1050 graphics card provides gaming options during down time.  

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Blow up paddle board  £1,299

This is a revolutionary new SUP which is a full sized board yet, when deflated, is half the size of all other inflatable paddle boards on the market. The ‘Compact’ board is a real game changer in the SUP market, as it fits down into a backpack so can be transported anywhere and everywhere with complete ease. 

Order by December 21 for delivery before Christmas 

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KODAK Photo Printer Dock  £189.99

This 2-in-1 printer doubles up as a cradle that also charges your mobile device. Simply plug in your Android phone via the 5-pin dock, or hook up your iOS device with the lightning charger and let the easy printing technology turn your pictures into high-quality prints in minutes. 

Order by end of play December 21 for delivery before Christmas. 

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Xbox One X 1TB Console – Gold Rush Special Edition Battlefield™ V Bundle  £449.99

Enter mankind’s greatest conflict with Battlefield™ V as the series returns to its roots in a never-before-seen portrayal of World War 2. Take on physical, all-out multiplayer with your squad in experiences such as the vast Grand Operations and the cooperative Combined Arms, or witness human drama set against global combat in the single player War Stories. As you fight in epic, unexpected locations across the globe, enjoy the richest and most immersive yet. 

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Luxury dog mattress  £115

For the pet lover in your life. The Casper bed combines pressure-relieving memory foam and durable support foam to create a decent night's snoozing for Fido...the medium size sleeps dogs weighing up to 27kg

Delivered within 48 hours of ordering until 22nd December 

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Filoment hoody for women  £145

Filoment is designed to keep you warm and snug. An active cut, with longer back and articulated arms, makes it ideal for active use. We make our down jackets to last with Nikwax Hydrophobic down. Filoment’s durable polyester outer is DWR coated, helping to shed moisture.

Order by December 21 for delivery before Christmas 

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  Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-6414931/Christmas-gift-guide-order-just-FOUR-days-December-25th.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ito=1490&ns_campaign=1490

[esoltis280]

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