#wormwood i made like over 2 years ago and i LOVE how he looks all I gotta do is make a drawing with my current art capabilities

[harlymph]

humanization? gjinka? what ever you call them. They/them

[mirkwoodshewolf]

Guardian of creatures; AU! Queen x reader chap. 1

*Author’s note*

Well it took awhile from the last update (plus things have been happening in my personal life like losing yet ANOTHER kitty cat this year) but I finally came around and deliver to you guys the first chapter of my new Hallowqueen series. Now keep in mind it’s mostly in 2nd PERSON POV which means as the reader it’s basically gender neutral, so be patient with me as I try to make sure to keep my pronouns in order. Also I hope you all watch the video I have linked in the story, I def. LOVED it when I first found it years ago and this guy can really sing and bring a gender-bend Disney character to life, so if you’ve never heard of him, check out his page you won’t regret it :)

Now not really any warnings per-say except rude bosses, seductive gestures, 

Taglist:

@plethora-of-things​

@waddles03​

@psychosupernatural​

@ixchel-9275​

@simonedk​

@queensdivas​

@jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels​

@dancingcoolcat​

@queendeakyy​

@kinole009x​

@klausidiot​

@geek-and-proud​

__________________________________________________________

Chapter 1,

First day on the Job

*April 11th, 1926*

First day on the job.  Well it’s really an internship but you were looking forward to it.  Working for the New York Times was an opportunity for any writer.  Your dream was to one day publish the next great American novel, as a child you’ve always been whisked away by the words and tales of dragons, sea-baring pirates, and worlds unlike the one you lived in.

It amazed you how one writer can just take you away on a journey and help distract you from the stresses of the world.  And here is where your journey began in hopes of accomplishing that dream.

You had first heard about the internship for the NY Times in the papers in an advertisement.  The call asked for a 300 word sample of your writing as well as any previous writing experiences you’ve had in the past.

In school you’ve been part of the school newspaper and helped write up advertisements for after school events.  So after submitting your sample as well as a resume, about 2 months later you finally got a letter from the NY times wanting to do an interview.

Long story short, the interview went great and now you’ve got the internship.  You now stood before the doors that would start your future in the world of writing. Tugging the strap of your suitcase over your shoulder, you take a deep breath in before exhaling and entered inside.

Already swarms of people flooded the first floor of the building, their voices echoing off the large room.  The repeated sounds of phones ringing piercing the room as secretaries at their desks were answering them.

It felt like a dream to you for you to actually think that you were now working in one of the top Newspapers brands in all of America.

“You there!” a voice called out.  You turned and saw a young man in a brown suit. “Why are you just standing there!? We are running a newspaper here, not a charity tour.”

“Sorry, I’m….my name is (y/n) (l/n). I’m the new intern to Mr. Grayson.”

“Ohh right. He’s been expecting you. You’re late by the way.”

“Late? But I’m right on……”

“One rule about working under Mr. Grayson, he expects his interns and anyone on his team to arrive before he does. Which is 6am on the dot. And it is now,” he looks down at his watch, “8:45. That’s a good start.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t tole. I promise it’ll never happen again.”

“See to it that it doesn’t. I’m Harry Wormwood, Vice President of the New York Times.”

“Oh Mr. Wormwood it’s an honor to—”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just get up to your post and start your internship.”

“Yes sir.” You said solemnly.  Wow he was rude.  To think you have a VP like him that acts like that around new people, especially interns.  But he was right, you had to get up to meet with your head of office and get right to work with whatever he needed help on.

You adjusted your bag once more before heading straight to the elevator and went up to the 13th floor.  After a bit of a ride and getting some more people in the elevator with you, you finally arrive to your floor.

People, like down in the first floor, were swarming the room, typewriters were tapping away as men were at their desks typing away their stories and articles for the paper.  Or as they like to call it ‘putting the paper to bed’.  You walk forward towards a middle aged man with ginger colored hair and ask him.

“Excuse me, do you know where Mr. Grayson’s office is at?”

“In the back, straight down the hall, last door. It’ll have his name plagued on the door in gold.” He said without looking you in the eye.

“Great, thank you.” you followed his instructions but when you got to his door, there was sounds of a commotion going on.  Well when you say that you mean the sound of someone yelling and belittling someone, then yes.

“YOU GODDAMN SONS OF BITCHES!!! If we can get a picture of Joan Crawford in lingerie, then we can surely get a hold of this damn jazz club!” you peek inside and inside you see four men surrounding a desk.

And right there at his desk with a cigar between his teeth was your new boss, Mr. Richard Grayson.  He was a middle aged man around his late 40’s possible even early 50’s. He was a fairly tall man with greying short hair, a small mustache across his lip.

But what really made him well known was the way he carried himself.  He was always described as a man who carried himself like a drill sergeant (that could be because he was one during the Great War).  A true, Bronx accent that carried out demands for miles and miles on end.

“Sir, we have tried everything we could to get a hold of an interview inside but not even our best interviewers could get pass security.” Said a blonde haired man in a blue suit.

“Our photographer Eddie has been on it for weeks and the owners have threatened a lawsuit against him because he’s been taking pictures of the club without consent.”

“Aww what are they shy?” Mr. Grayson mocked out. “Then let them sue us then, get rich on their own standards! That’s what made this country stand the way it is!”

“Maybe we should just forget about it.” Said a brown haired man.

“I have been on this case for years. Ever since these mysterious owners built their club at the start of the decade and has remained popular I want to know just what the secret to their success.”

“Sir the only thing we have is that the owners come from England and that they prefer a specific crowd of people.” Answered a young man around your age who had black hair.

“Yeah right they do.” Mr. Greyson muttered sarcastically. That’s when he suddenly turned towards you. “You!” he pointed at you.  You’re startled by his loud, strong voice as you quickly come inside his office.

“Sorry sir I-I-I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I really should’ve knocked.”

“You’re the new intern right?” he ignored your apology and went straight to the question at hand.

“Y-Yes sir.”

“Excellent. I want you to go to this night club and get an exclusive interview with the owners, bartender, musicians, I don’t care who. Just find someone to talk to and ask them about their Jazz club.”

“Sir you can’t give it to them. This is a big responsibility, not to mention too much for a fresh intern to take over.” Said the man in the brown suit that you saw first speak to Mr. Grayson.

“Shut it Mack! You remember what I had you do the first day you were late working for me. What better way to get started than by throwing fresh meat to the wolves.”

Can you say you regret working here yet? No too early? Okay then.

“So what do you say kid, will you do it?” before you could even answer, your boss continues, “Of course you’ll do it. Now then. Take this camera, your notepad, and come up with a clever story to get inside. Good luck kid!” he tosses you a camera and notepad before escorting you out of his office and shutting the door behind you.

Okay……what the fuck just happened? It all happened so fast you almost couldn’t even believe it.  And what jazz club did he want you to check out again?

Later that night (after getting the information from some of your new team members) you now stood before the building you were supposed to go undercover for.

In a bright neon sign at the side of the building was the name BEWITCHED JAZZ.  Now you have heard of this club before and remember it getting fairly good praise from the public and has a good swarm of people.  Hell even some of the biggest names in Hollywood have been seen going into that club.

But there was always an air of mystery about it.  Like Mr. Grayson said, security is always tight. First of all security actually gives you a pat down before entering inside.  Any traces of photography or recording equipment is immediately destroyed (yes you heard, destroyed).

Thinking it’d be best, you decide to leave the camera in your car and just wait it out.  Cause that seems to be the problem that most of Mr. Greyson’s reporters don’t seem to get, they just think barging on in will get them access.  A good reporter always plans ahead and blends in with the crowd, observes then goes in for the kill.

You stand in the line and for about an hour you stand there waiting to get inside until finally it’s your turn to go up.

“Next.” A very tall and muscular man speaks out as he unhooks the rope allowing you to come forward. “Pardon but I’m gonna need to do a pat down.”

“Go ahead.” As he carefully and precisely starts the pat down, you can’t help but feel intimidated, hell his whole hand goes halfway down your leg and covers your entire back.  He was a pretty intimidating man to look at, and you hope he doesn’t snap you like a toothpick.

“Now you don’t have any weapons or outside drinks that I’m not aware of?” he asks in that deep, deep baritone voice of his.

“No sir.” You answer.

“Show me some identification.” You pull out your wallet and give him your ID.  He looks down at it before looking towards you skeptically.

Swallowing nervously, the giant just looks at you with a skeptical look before finally giving you back your ID.

“Go right on in.” what? Oh god you couldn’t believe you could actually go in.  You take your ID and put it back inside your wallet and thank the guard before stepping inside.

It was a fairly big place, about 3000 sq. ft. A decent size of the typical jazz clubs in NYC.  It looked like any ordinary jazz club, firefly lights hanging from the ceiling, the lights lowered to a slight shadow, tables surrounding everywhere, including each side of the catwalk.

A grand stage was at the very center of the building with a band playing an upbeat jazz score.  Waiters and bartenders tending to each customer.  Some people were dancing to the music while most were sitting down talking to one another.

“Wow.” You softly muttered.

“It’s alright but we make do.” A voice suddenly spoke up. You jump back startled but you stop as you stare at the man before you.

He was unlike any other man you’ve seen in your entire life. He was fairly tall and lean, but not unhealthily skinny, just lean.  His eyes were almost a hypnotic blue and he had fairly sharp features, particularly his nose and even his profile.

It was like looking at an angel.  But what really struck your attention was the curly hair he had.  It reminded you of that one scientist from like the medieval ages or something, what was his name again uhh—Neutron? New—Newton! Isaac Newton that’s the guy.

“Sorry I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

“No it’s—it’s fine. I’m just…..I was just admiring the place. I’ve…..never really been to a jazz club before.”

“Well, I hope we here at the BEWITCHED can help fill your desires. Oh manners, I’m Brian. Head Bartender.” Head bartender? That’s new.

“What’s a head bartender?”

“Basically I run the bar and train all the other bartenders so that every drink is made to perfection. Now come, sit and let me prepare you something.” He does a gentle gesture towards the bar with his arm and you go to sit at an empty cushioned barstool.  Wow this was really cushioned, it kinda reminded you of sofa material. Now so soft that you sink into it but not hard enough to where it’s uncomfortable.

Brian goes around the bar and stands before you and asks with a warm smile and says with that soft voice of his that you can somehow hear over the music.

“Now what can I get for you?”

“Actually I’m…..don’t really know my drinks that well, what’s your most popular one?”

“Well the most popular drink on our menu is French 75. A pretty basic cocktail made with gin, champagne and lemon. I think the main reason why people like it so much is they think it’s actually from France but in truth it really isn’t.” he teases the last part of his statement which makes you softly laugh. “There’s also the Bees Knees, also called our ‘bathtub gin’. Mainly from our pianist player. But that’s basically gin, fresh lemon juice and honey. To give it that sweet yet tart flavor.”

“I think I’ll go with the Bee’s Knees then.” He gave a snap of his fingers.

“Coming right up.” He pulls out a small circular bowl wine glass and with graceful precision he starts whipping up the drink.  Shaking the cocktail up in a perfect blend, pouring out the right amount of gin and juice into the concoction.  Before finally topping it off with some honey and stirred it up.

Then with a grace and delicate pour, he pours the Bee’s Knees, which comes out in a beautiful, clear sunset orange color into the glass before topping it off with two flower decoration toppings.

“Here you are.” He said as he picked it up delicately from the stem of the glass and handed it over to you.  You set down a dollar and took a small sip of it.

And as soon as your tastebuds were washed over with the drink, it was like you had died and gone to heaven.

“Oh my god! This is sooo good!”

“I’m glad you like it. That’s actually one of the owner’s preferred cocktails of choice. Can’t get enough of it.”

“I can see why. And he certainly has good taste.”

“She does. Actually.” Wait did he just say.  I quickly looked up at him and I stammered.

“Wait—you mean this……”

“It’s a partnership. Both she and her husband own the place. She makes most of the decisions since she knows the business world better than any of us. While he takes care of the finances, she’s always been lousy when it comes to the math. Don’t tell her I said that though.”

“My lips are sealed.” You say as you take another sip of your drink.

The curtains then close and a spotlight came on at the center of the curtain.  That’s when you suddenly hear all the ladies in the room beginning to scream bloody murder. God never have you heard so many women scream before nor have you seen them try to get up to the stage so quickly in your life.

“Here they go again.” Brian says as he starts cleaning out a beer glass.

“What?” you ask.

“Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday night when my mate preforms, the ladies all go crazy at the chance of getting to him.”

“Mate? You mean you guys are…..” you ask curiously.

“Oh no nothing like that. Where we come from mate means best friend. But even though I don’t condone his constant flirtatious behavior, he’s gotten me out of more scraps than I care to imagine.”

Peeking through the velvet blue curtain was an arm.  The red glittering sequin pattern delicately bounced off the spotlight and soon a hypnotic, soft yet raspy voice began to sing. When the curtains opened up and a soft jazz tune began playing, on stage stood a very, very, very, very handsome man.

When you say handsome, you really mean handsome.  This man looked like he was carved from the god with his ruffled up blonde hair, his piercing blue eyes that unlike Brian’s which were soft and inviting, this guy had hypnotic eyes that just draw you in and could kill you.

He wore a bright sequin cherry red tail suit which was unbuttoned pretty much all the way down, exposing his upper body to the ladies.  His neck decorated with 3 necklaces.  One of which went practically down to where his abs were, the other hung right at the center of his chest and was in the shape of some sort of snail shell or some other type of seashell.  The last one was more of a choker but was decored with beautiful diamonds like a crown of sorts.

He strut across the stage with grace and purpose as he continued to sing with a lustful, hypnotic tone that just made you go numb and melt in your seat.  And your eyes refusing to look away from this handsome creature before you.

*Male singer*

I got plenty money in 1922 You let other rich men make a fool of you Why don't you do right like some other gals do?         

He kneels down in front of the stage in front of a beautiful young woman.  She had long, wavy blonde hair and she looked up at this man with lust in her eyes.  He placed a dollar bill between her teeth and closed her mouth as he walked down the steps of the stage.

        He then walked over towards a woman with short raven hair.  She was fairly lean and had almost an aristocratic air about her.  He stood in front of her and took her hand in his.  He leaned towards her hand almost wanting to kiss the back of it, but his lips teased her hand and you could see her slightly shiver past her authorative demeanor.

With a cunning grin, he then stripped his tailcoat off his back leaving the undercoat which exposed his bare arms, the hint of black ocean waves tattoos decorated around his biceps.

You couldn’t speak at this point as you felt our heart racing rapidly, almost as if it were about to pop right out of your chest. The man soon turned his eyes right on you.  His piercing eyes staring deep into your soul.

Slowly walking towards you, he circles around you like a wolf circling it’s prey.  His hand gently grazes up your arm and you feel a bolt of electricity run up your spine, and it didn’t help when his hot breath gently sung in your ear.

Let’s get out of here, I got some money for you

You're sittin' down wonderin' what it's all about If you ain't got no money they will put you out Why don't you do right like some other gals do? Let’s get out of here, I got some money for you

Now if you had prepared twenty years ago You wouldn't be wanderin' now from door to door Why don't you do right like some other gals do?          You didn’t know why but you were willing to let this god-like siren just devour you. But when you turned your attention back to him, you saw that he was now looking towards you left at the upper floors.

        There at the top of the red carpet stairs stood a fairly beautiful woman. Her hair was a beautiful long ginger color and she wore a similar sparkling dark cherry red dress.  She held in her hand a silver dollar.

        He slowly walked up towards the mysterious woman that stood by the stairs and the two stared each other down.  She gave him the dollar but before she took her hand away, he took it in his and stared up at her like she was an angel (which you’ll admit, she did kinda look like one).

Let’s get out of here, I got some money for you

Let’s get out of here, I got some money for you Why don't you do right, like some other gals, do?

As he did a falsetto for the final note, he grazed the woman’s hand before doing his seductive walk back towards the stage. He turned back towards the audience and gave a flirtatious wink before the curtains closed on him.

The ladies all screamed as the lights came back up and you felt the spell the man had somehow placed on you slowly fade away.  Right now if you had to describe how you were feeling it’s be like running a marathon and had just swam across the entire Pacific ocean twice.

“Hope he didn’t scare you too bad honey.” A soft, Southern accent spoke.  You turned around and there stood the woman that the blonde singer had tried to seduce with his voice.  But she didn’t seem affected like all the other women were.

“I-I ju……he was……” she lowly chuckled.

“He has that effect on all the ladies. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Brian dear, get this dear a glass of water.”

“Right away my lady.” Brian said as he prepared you a glass of water.  She takes a seat beside you and continues.

“He may act all macho and seductive. But trust me, his bark is worse than his bite.” She spoke in that honey-like voice of hers that had a slight raspy to it, but it didn’t change the softness to her motherly tone.

“Who—who was he?” you ask her.

“He only gives out his name to those he truly trusts. So most of the ladies here call him the blonde Siren.”

“The blonde Siren?”

“Now I hope I’m not being intrusive but I haven’t seen you in this club before, have I?”

“No. This—is my first time actually.”

“Really? For business or pleasure?” she said as she leaned her chin against fist, looking at you with red eyes? Wait she had red eyes? And not like the kind of red that comes from being tired or when you get pink eye.  They were literally red eyes, blood red to be exact.  Not wanting her to see that you were stuck in thought you came up with a good excuse.

“I’ve just heard about this place from some friends and—wanted to see for myself.” She looked at me skeptically at first but a soft grin spread across her face.

“Well we try our best. We also want to make sure that first timers are treated fairly and respectfully. That’s the one law here at BEWITCHED.”

“Well I’m fairly happy. The drinks are amazing and the music is phenomenal.”

“I’m glad.” She then hummed out a chuckle. “Silly me, I almost forgot, you can call me Serafina. I’m the owner of this fine establishment.” Your eyes widened.

This young and beautiful woman owned this entire place?! But she couldn’t be older than her mid 20’s.  And the fact that she was a woman running this club, that’s completely unheard of.  A woman owning such a booming business.

Of course there wasn’t any jealously on your part.  In fact you were amazed that such a young woman could run a business like this and be so successful.

“Brian told me that a woman owned this place. But—pardon me for saying this but you’re…….”

“Too young to run a big business?” she said with a quirked brow. Thinking you had offended her you tried to defend your statement but all that came out were stutters of embarrassment. “Relax honey. I get that a lot. Why do you think we’re so secretive? A young woman running a big business. Oh the scandal of it all!” the two of you laugh.

The big clock along the ceiling soon chimed out midnight. Whoa it’s already that late.

“I should get going. If I’m late for work again my boss will kick me to the curb for sure. And on my second day no less.”

“You sure you’re sober enough to drive honey?” Serafina asked you.  You give her a nod.

“Yeah. I only really had one drink and that water sobered me up a lot. Thank you so much Brian, Serafina.”

“Anytime sweetie. Hope to see you again soon.” Serafina says with a warm smile.  You grab your wallet and pay the rest of your tab to Brian before finally walking out of the club.

*3rd Person POV*

Once they were gone, Brian turned to her and said.

“It was them.”

“Just as Freddie prophesized.” Serafina dropped her fake accent and spoke with her normal British tone.

“So it is time then?” another British male voice spoke up. The High elf and the ginger haired witch turned and soon walking towards them was John Deacon himself.

His once long hair was now cut down to a short tuff of brown hair. He wore a clean-cut black tailcoat suit. Serafina extended her hand and the two lovers joined hands with each other.

“Yes my love.”

“Honestly I hoped this day would never come.”

“But it must John. You know this. You have seen what will happen if they don’t help us.” Brian warned him.

“I’m not sure if we can even trust them.” Coming around the bar to pour himself a drink was Roger. “They’re human. And humans have been poking around in our business for centuries. Especially their reporters. We already run the risk of exposing ourselves to the human realm.” He took a shot of his beer.

‘Now, now my darlings we mustn’t quarrel.’ A soft, serpent voice spoke in their heads. ‘The humans are our least concern right now. What matters now is getting our key to help us finally put an end to the dark Wizards once and for all.’

“Yes Freddie.” All four of them softly chorused out.

[kazlifeadventures]

Chernobyl!!

23 May

Those of us who signed up for the full day trip to inside Chernobyl’s exclusion zone were up early in our long pants,sleeves,with enclosed shoes with our passports ready for the security checks to go into the zone. We signed our lives away on a safety waiver, and check in sheets that go to the highly controlled checkpoints located at the different zone crossings. Visits to the area are highly controlled with only a few tour companies given permission to enter, they are required to wear a tracker at all times so they are monitored to ensure they are not going into areas where they are not permitted. We were all required to wear dosimeters so that our radiation exposure could be checked at the end of the day. Our guide, Alexi, gave us some amazing insights he has learned from years of research, insights into not only the events that lead up to what occurred in the early hours of 26th April 1986, but also the time line of sorts of what was done afterwards. A lot of the ‘truths’ surrounding the reactor explosion were lost when witnesses died, or were buried by the propaganda and coverups of the Soviets at the time. Don’t forget it took for America to call them out with the incontrovertible satellite photos of the blast for the Soviets to admit anything had happened, let alone take steps to contain the ongoing radiation leakage and further risks of explosions. When it comes to information surrounding Chernobyl it’s difficult to find a complete story, let alone be able to fact check anything. Alexi gave us the name of a you tube documentary that he advised shows the true side of what happened in reactor 4 on 26 April 1986. The " Battle of Chernobyl" if you want to look it up!

First up was a stop in Zalesye, an abandoned village within the exclusion zone. It was surreal, to step off the bus, knowing that we were walking down a main street, but seeing nothing but vegetation. Then through avenues in the trees we came across the remains of the houses, we then entered into the old town hall building with its rotting floors, and decaying walls. There were still old signs on the walls. I managed to get myself what I like to call a ‘shin - obyl’ bruise on my way in, as only I can - stacked it climbing up onto the entry. Luckily one of my bus mates helped me up as we were told not to touch walls, or ground...or anything really ... so that would be why we had to wear long pants (for when idiots like me fall over!)

The next stop was the reason the power stations were built, the Duga radar. Holy huge metal antenna array... when you know that the huge, costly, power hungry radar actually wasn’t that good at its job makes the events of the reactor explosion seem even more of an avoidable incident. Incredibly, you would have no idea that it was there until you walk into the forest of vegetation, then it’s an ‘oh my’ moment at it’s sheer size and the wonder of the precision of the components. It is slowly rusting, and someone died climbing it a few years ago, so we were not allowed to climb it.

We then headed to Chernobyl and the Reactor canteen for lunch. Yes, complete canteen lunch on a tray... Soup, mains, desert, replete with unsmiling Ukrainian canteen ladies serving it to us. With the extra bread we’d grabbed at lunch we then fed fish from the railway bridge near the reactors. Then it was up close to reactor 4 and the monument for it. I couldn’t believe we were able to get to within about 200m of it. Although there are strict rules on photos in this area - can only shoot in one direction, and there are guards and cameras everywhere.

Chernobyl town was the administrative centre for the district and until its evacuation on the 30th April 1986, housed about 14000 people It was not as close to the site as our next stop.

Alexi gave us an interesting parallel: apparently ‘Chernobyl’ means wormwood in Russian. In Chernobyl town, 164 died as part of the first responders to the explosion, and there is a memorial that has been erected in the central square depicting an Angel blowing a trumpet. The 8th book of revelations talks of a cataclysmic event : “And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.” Revelation 8:10-11. Draw from that whatever conclusions you will, interesting nonetheless...

Pripyat was designed to be new age city of sorts, with its amusement park, cafes, art installations, hotels, apartments it was coming into itself with 50000 residents, housing workers at the power plant. It was finally evacuated in the afternoon of the 27th April 1986, with residents being told they would be gone for a couple of days and to just grab a few things and leave their pets. They were never allowed to return. We climbed through the maternity hospital, where the abortions were performed, with some of its records and equipment still intact. We were warned not to touch anything that still remained as it would still be highly radioactive. Trekking through the vegetation we came across what once was a beautiful cafe on the banks of the river that was due to open on the day the city was evacuated. The stained glass art that had adorned its window depicting the four seasons, some still intact, the rest of it lying shattered on the ground. From there we headed to the sports stadium, through what we later realised was the soccer field (no sign that it was there!) To me it was incredible to see sparks of beauty still there, the glass work in the cafe, the tile art adorning the external sides of two of the buildings we saw. We ventured into the pool area of the sports complex, it’s dive platform still intact, tiles, ladders, everything still there, just decaying, old, or vandalised by some who have snuck into the area over the years. It was then time for the iconic amusement park. Again something that was only just opening when the incident occurred. It stands as a rusting memory of time gone by, bumper cars, Ferris wheel, all the fun of the fair, with that eerie overtone of nothingness or is it hopelessness, I’m not sure.

We then took off to see the last Lenin statue in Ukraine, all others have been removed. It is still located outside of the Communist party building where the ‘fake’ trial took place of a power plant director and 2 engineers, where they were found guilty of negligence and the the blame placed on them for the incident. Nothing of course said about the safety measures that were supposed to have been installed in the reactor, or the fact that they failed, or they fact that the staff were following orders as required under Soviet rule. The Chernobyl town is home to what are known as the ‘self settlers’. Previous residents who have returned of their own volition to continue living in their property.

Our last stop was in the Red forest area, northern part of the exclusion zone. It apparently received the worst of the radiation. We entered the kindergarten where to my dismay we learned that kids continued to be sent to for at least a week after the reactor explosion. Testing after the incident proved that everything including the toys they had played with were riddled with extremely high levels of radioactivity. It was poignant and incredibly sad to see the remains of the toys, the cribs/beds knowing that these children had been exposed to such toxic levels of radiation due to the inaction of the Soviet authorities.

On our way out of the zone we stopped briefly at ‘The men who saved the world’. An un-offical memorial to the first attendees, doctors, firefighters etc, who all died in hospital number six in Russia and were then buried in lead coffins somewhere in Russia. Their families were not allowed to even see them or be at the burial.

On our way out of two checkpoints we had to submit to a full body radiation scan at each in order to check for any contamination. Luckily none of us had to be decontaminated (ie hosed down!). We were then given strict instruction to shower thoroughly and ensure our clothes were either washed or kept in an area safely before we washed them... On a side note the radiation we experienced for the day was somewhere around a 5 or 6 hour transatlantic flight so I pretty much got more radiation flying over to Europe than I did wandering around all day - good to know though!

It was an amazing day. A long one, we're all tired. But wow. How lucky am I that I got to do this. Mother nature has given the human race and it's nuclear power a big fuck you. And I love it! It's surreal to walk down what was once a street realising that on both sides of you hidden by nature's growth stands the time capsule of the crumbling remnants of the buildings of whole towns. Nature has rebounded here in spades, the birds chirping constantly, the land brimming with growth, the fish teeming - and no, none of them have 2 heads or mutations anymore. Apparently nature very quickly removes such mutations when they serve no purpose. The amusement park, a ghost town of rusting steel and decaying wood. The beautiful art works of tile and glass slowly deteriorating. It's eerie, and incredibly fascinating. My emotions are everywhere. Our guide is so passionate about what happened here and what the Soviets did to cover up their mistakes and the impact this had on the people who are still affected to this day, with no accurate records of how many have died from exposure in the years since the explosion. I was astounded how close we were able to get to reactor four. Incredibly saddened at how little care was taken of the people here. This Chernobyl adventure will stay with me forever, and has left an indelible mark on my psyche. If you don’t know much about this story, read more, find as much of the truth as you can, and most important of all - never forget.

[emilyslifeinlondon]

Tuesday May 9-Sunday May 14 Woohoo, today's the day Mary comes!!! After graduating from UConn on Sunday the 7th, Mary unpacked all of her college belongings only to re-pack for London. A few of the many things we did over the last 5 days: -Stonehenge 🗿 -Sketch -Oxford St 🛍 -Westminster -Platform 9 3/4 -Bowling w CIEE 🎳 -Afternoon tea at The Orangery 🍵 -Matilda 🔮 -221B Baker St -SSE Women's Cup Final ⚽️🏆 I took the tube to Heathrow and ended up picking Mary up at her terminal. I (as well as the Heathrow staff) was confused about whether or not a flight from Dublin was considered international or not, so I stood on the opposite side of where I was supposed to be until Mary texted me saying she had collected her luggage and was waiting. She also said she hadn't gone through customs and wasn't sure if she should go back in. I was shocked since border control is quite strict in the U.K., but since Dublin isn't considered an international flight, Mary had technically gone through customs in Ireland. We took the tube back home and went straight to King's Cross/St. Pancras to board a train to Salisbury, en route to Stonehenge! The train ride was about 1 1/2 hours and before we knew it, we were in Salisbury. We boarded the Stonehenge tour bus (it takes about 10-15 minutes to get to the Visitor's Center) and got to listen to some audio that gave us more information about the site and neighboring town. We hopped off at the visitor's center and grabbed a quick bite to eat. I got a steak pie which was delicious, and Mary got a sandwich that she really enjoyed! We picked up our tickets and boarded a golden bus to the actual rocks. The ride was short and once we got off the bus, the rocks were only 100 feet in front of us. I had heard that the audio tour was something worth getting, so we had our little telephone like sets and made our way around the area; since the ground isn't stable enough to support thousands of people, you can't actually walk through the rocks, but you can get pretty close. We listened, took a break sitting, snapped lots of pics, and had a great afternoon! We spent some time in Salisbury and went to The King's Head (pub recommended by the bus driver) for dinner and I got tomato soup and (spicy 🌶) wings. We boarded the train back to Waterloo in London, and only 15 minutes later I couldn't find my phone. I went through my whole backpack and checked under my seat and it wasn't there. I was panicking and knew it had to be at the train station since I had used my phone for directions from the pub to the train station. We got off at the next stop and had to wait and excruciating 40 minutes for the next train back to Salisbury. I ran through the station back to the bench we had been sitting on before we got onto the train and my phone was sitting right there where I had left it. God, am I lucky or what?! It's safe to say I had a good night's sleep that night. We got back to London an hour later than we had anticipated and went right to bed. The next morning we met up with Christine and Amanda at Sketch, a fancy restaurant in London right off of Oxford street. Sketch is known for its pink tea room and egg pod bathrooms. I had toast and bacon for breakfast which was good but nothing special. After waiting until the tea took opened, we finally made our way to the iconic bathroom. It was so cool! I accidentally used the men's side but how can you really tell when the pods all look the same? We took lots of pics and then Mary and I walked around Oxford and Bond street. Mary bought some Chelsea boots and Schuh and I got some tanks and a pair of jeans at New Look. I also got a waffle with chocolate sauce, strawberries, and Nutella ice cream which was delicious! I had class in the afternoon, so Mary went to the British Museum which is conveniently right across from CIEE, where I have class. We went to Pizza Union for dinner and then headed to Chinatown after for bubblewrap, basically ice cream in a waffle. The line wasn't too long, maybe 25 minutes or so, and the dessert was so good! I was surprised by how tasty the waffle was- it was sweet, warm, and soft. We walked around Chinatown/Soho for a little bit but it was chilly so we headed back to Chapter afterwards. On Thursday morning I had class, so Mary slept in and went to the British Library (only a 5-10 minute walk from Chapter). We explored Westminster, walking by the London Eye, Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and ended up at Buckingham Palace after walking through Saint James Park, enjoying all of the birds and ducks. After getting off at King's Cross we waited in line to get our picture at Platform 9 3/4. Mary and I got our jumping pic. We were both exhausted and rested for a few minutes before walking back to CIEE in Bloomsbury for the farewell dinner. We met up with everyone and walked to dinner which was at a bowling alley! We were served lots of small appetizers ranging from crab cakes, pulled pork sandwiches, fried chicken on skewers, and fried mac & cheese balls. I had a handful of pulled pork and chicken as well as a beer and 1/3 a (fruity & delicious) cider I shared with Mary. After eating, we all picked teams and started bowling. Although I hadn't been bowling in some 5-10 years, I was better than I thought I would be. There were no bumpers, and I ended up with 70. Pretty bad but I was happy I actually knocked some pins down. We were exhausted after waiting some 20 minutes for the tube home. Since it was the last night everyone in the program would be together, we all went out. Mary decided to stay in, and as much as I wanted to join her I knew that I would have regretted it had I not gone. I also had a lot of tequila and a whole bottle of wine that I didn't want to waste. Our group basically took up half the dance floor at some point, and we got 2 free shots since they overcharged me at the door. That morning Mary and I got afternoon tea at The Orangery. I wasn't able to make my 9 am class, but don't worry, it was only a walking tour and James had said that it wasn't mandatory. I had book an appointment for 11:15 am, but they didn't start afternoon tea until noon, so we had something small to hold us over until 12:00. I got some Royal something (I forget the name, lol) tea and it was delicious! I never used to be a fan of tea, but I enjoyed it the last time I was in London two years ago. We had little sandwiches, scones, and desserts. They portions are tiny but with all of the food you're sure to be full at the end. After tea, we walked around Hyde Park for a bit before heading to Harrods. I wasn't able to go the last time I was in London and although I can't afford anything in the department store, it was cool walking around and starting at all of the chocolates that cost £90 a box. We headed back to Chapter afterwards and rested for a few minutes before walking back to the GI for my last class! We just watched some British news comedy show for an hour or so before he ended class early (thank god). We met up with Christine and Rex at a pub nearby for fish & chips before heading to Cambridge Theatre to see Matilda. Matilda is quite new to the stage and everyone at the ticket office had said that it was wonderful and that they highly recommended it. I'm not sure where to begin by describing the play, I'll start by saying that it was somewhat strange but in a good way. Some of the music numbers were fantastic and the choreography was well done! Most of the cast consisted of children, and Miss Truchbull was played by a man. The play was very funny at times and the actors that played Miss Trunchbull and Mr. Wormwood were perfect for the role. We also got some Oreo McFlurries after the show! It was so stressful packing the night before moving out but thankfully Mary was able to fit a good amount of my winter clothes and jackets into her suitcase! After scrambling around to fit three month's worth of stuff into a mere two suitcases and a backpack, alas I got the suitcases zipped by sitting on them! However, my large suitcase was a jaw dropping 72 lbs! I was dying laughing. How did I possibly accumulate more than 25 lbs worth of stuff?! I bought a few jackets and clothes, but I didn't think they would have amassed a shocking 25-30 lbs. Who knows. We left our bags behind the front desk and walked around Covent Garden, where we got brunch at a cute diner. I was exhausted after getting about 5 hours of sleep, so thanks to Mary's suggestion, I got a mocha to help wake me up. I was surprised that I liked it! We both had a great breakfast and proceeded to make our way to the Covent Garden market area. Mary had some Ben's Cookies (so delicious & gooey) and then we took the tube to Baker Street (221 B) aka the Sherlock Holmes door. We got our pics and then headed back to Chapter to grab our bags to check into our Airbnb. Silly us, we took the tube and DRL with all of our luggage when we should have just taken an Uber and paid the £20some pounds it would've cost. Lugging my freaking heavy suitcase up and down stairs at the tube stations was a nightmare. Luckily, some people helped me out a lot by carrying my large luggage for me since the lifts were under construction, of course. We finally checked in and had a little while to rest before leaving for Wembley Stadium. We had ticket to see the SSE Women's FA Final Cup! I had hoped to go to a premier league men's football game but either the game was too far away or too expensive (£250+ per ticket). Regardless, we were both really excited. It took a while to get there since there was so much traffic, but we made it a few minutes after the game started. When they announced that Carli Lloyd had scored one of the goals for Manchester City against Birmingham, Mary and I turned to each other in shock and I quickly googled her to see if it was indeed her! We love watching the World Cup, and both love the USA Women's Soccer Team! After finding out that Carli Lloyd was playing on the field only 50 feet in front of us, we were a lot more engaged and excited. During halftime, we got hotdogs (mine was a pulled pork dog) and were surprised that halftime was only 15 minutes or so. The final score was 4-1 Manchester City v Birmingham, and the game brought in a record crowd of over 35,000. We got ice cream on the way back at a gas station (there were no restaurants/ice cream shops near the Airbnb) and hung out/packed since Mary was set to leave early the next morning. 6 am came all too early when we had to wake up, and learning from our mistake, we took an Uber to the airport. I dropped Mary off at her terminal, said goodbye, and walked to the next terminal to wait for Emily to arrive! It was a whirlwind of week with Mary! We did so much in only 5 days, didn't get enough sleep, ate a lot of food, saw Stonehenge, and had an amazing week! I was so glad (and really excited) that I got to share a place so important to me with my sister.

[ecotone99]

Revelation (FN)

Part 1

Awoken by the dreading sound everyone fears, John’s alarm clock rang through him, forcing a loud groan followed by sighs of irritation. The young man stretched over to turn the evil siren off, but now he was awake and there was no point going back to sleep. Forcing himself to sit up he gave a lifeless glance into his television which had been left on overnight. It was a Sunday, which should mean he could sleep in and relax; however, he had a book to write and a long day ahead him. John had spent what felt like his whole life writing, always wanting to be an author, unfortunately at 26 years of age, he had nothing of worth to show for it, a few minor publications with mediocre reviews at best. However, this time it would be different, John was hungrier than ever to write and was determined to nail his next book. Rolling out of bed, he stretched his arms to the heavens. He sported a good physique, 6”2, lean, not as muscular as he wished but that didn’t bother him. His handsome face and dark brown eyes were topped off by hair so black it didn’t look natural. Hair that John always styled backwards, for the sole reason of looking more sophisticated and like a serious author. Brandished down the left-hand side of his neck, was a recognisable scar, that John loathed. He had always had the unpleasant scar and had no memory of were it came from. In fact, he had no recollection whatsoever of his early childhood years. His mind could stretch back to when he was around 7 or 8, moving into foster homes, but before that, nothing. There was one clue he had, if you could even call it that. A recurring dream that he experienced, a dream he assumed was from his forgotten past. It’s wasn’t a good dream, nor a bad one. He had always struggled to piece it together. It was like a jigsaw that he could never complete.

Darting around his somewhat clean bedroom, picking up the clothes he needed, never being one to put too much effort into his style, as he mostly just wore all black. Mainly for two reasons, it was cheaper and easier to wash. The look for today turned out to be well fitted black jeans, black socks and a slim fit black t-shirt with white writing across the front reading “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown” A quote from one of his favourite authors H.P Lovecraft. Off to the kitchen for some morning fuel, he walked through the small one bedroom apartment which by all standards was nice and fortunately for him had cheap rent, because the money he made from writing was certainly not enough to sustain a living, in fact he had been living of inheritance money from his birth parents since he turned 18, and that wasn’t going to last forever.

A high-pitched whistle erupted from the stove-top kettle, which John subsequently poured into a cracked and stained white mug which had seen better days. The strong aroma of cheap black coffee and hot steam filled John’s nostrils, and without hesitation he picked up the freshly made coffee and downed it, giving off a sour face and grunt of displeasure. John was more concerned about just readying himself for the day ahead than trivial nonsense such as a good cup of coffee.

Grabbing his black oxford shoes that gave of a sharp reflection and slipping them on, John completed his look with a fine black overcoat and a black wool scarf to cover his neck, and just before darting out the door, he picked up his lap-top bag and flipped it over his shoulder. Closing the door behind him, he turned and looked across the empty hallway at the door to his new neighbours’ apartment. The apartment had sat empty for a couple of months until just 2 weeks ago when a young woman in her early twenties had moved in. If memory served him right, her name was Bel, they had only spoke a handful of times, mostly small encounters around the building, she seemed quite shy to John, so he never wanted to bother her too much. Unexpectedly, the door slowly opened and there stood bel, she looked prettier than John had seen before, wearing makeup and a white floral dress with teal and pink flowers, her shoulder length red hair and brown eyes really stood out thanks to her pale skin, which was even paler than John’s. Bel looked up making eye contact, smiling away “good morning “she said

Still enthralled by her appearance John nodded back to her “yeah good morning to you”

As they both headed down the narrow and dark flights of stairs john looked across to her, nervously muttering “so how are you finding your new place”

“It’s absolutely wonderful, much nicer than what I’m used to and we’re also nice and close to the city”

John eagerly replied “That’s true, and don’t forgot about the rent, hard to find a place this nice for so cheap” followed by an unconfident laugh

“ehh we are?... ah yeah of course… nice and low for people like us” Forcing an awkward smile after speaking

John assumed this was her first apartment so she must not be too familiar with rent prices, but mostly all he could think about was where she was going dressed so nicely this early in the morning, the only thing that could come to mind was she was going out on a date, however that wouldn’t make much sense because it’s 9am, not to mention she had never brought up anything about a boyfriend in there previous small encounters, and he hadn’t seen anyone visiting.

John’s intrigue got the better of him and he finally let out “So where are you off to this morning then, a date perhaps?”

Letting out a quiet giggle bel replied “Oh goodness no, I’m off to Sunday Mass”

John’s pale face began to turn red, and embarrassingly replying “I’m sorry I didn’t mean too”

But before he could finish Bel cut in “No no please don’t worry about it, I always try to look my best for church, I guess it does look like I’m going on a date”

John pointed to the silver cross on the end of the shining necklace bel wore “That explains the bling”

“ahh yes I never take this off, I really do love it” she replied. “I take it you’re not the religious type then”

“Unfortunately, not, I think my real parents were, but I don’t remember them so I’m not too sure”

“well good thing God loves all, no matter their beliefs, even the sinners”

“Well I bloody hope so” John amusingly responded. As they excited the main building, they were greeted with blinding sunshine, a gust of fresh air and the sound of light morning traffic, John went to turn right and abruptly heard bel say

“Well I’m off this way” signalling the opposite direction

“Ah yes you don’t need a train to church, well I’ll see you later then Bel” putting his hands together and nodding forward to mimic a prayer “enjoy your….

With a wide smile Bel replied “oh I will thank you, enjoy your writing John! I’ll see you very soon” before elegantly strolling in the opposite direction.

“My writing?” he pondered “I guess I must have mentioned it to her before”

Now alone and on route to the train station, the shadows of derelict apartment buildings plagued the sun pathed streets that john strutted down, once a vibrant urban area in the outskirts of the city, was no longer, over the past couple of years high crime rates, a heavy spike in gang violence and even the unbearable low temperatures all played their part in chasing people away from Naperville, a once Vibrant city in the Chicago Metropolitan Area. However, none of this bothered John, because it just lowered his rent and he made sure to be safe and keep out of trouble.

Upon arrival at the local station, John was taken aback by the lack of people at the station, especially so early in the morning. It was true that over the last few years the areas numbers had dwindled, but the station was always guaranteed to provide a familiar face or two, game for a friendly conversion. Patiently biding his time he couldn’t help but notice a strange figure on the platform across the tracks, an elderly gentleman that he had never seen here before, the old man donned an immaculate white suit that looked more expensive than anything John had ever laid his hands on, with a perfectly groomed white handlebar moustache, the gentleman simply looked like he had stepped out of Victorian England. Intrigued and staring upon the old man, suddenly he turned his head and aimed his sharp eyes towards John, with the timely appearance of a train arriving on the platform to cut the line of sight between the men.

Boarding the train, John stood at the little space he could muster, holding on to the grips above him to maintain balance, and staring outside the window across the platform to try and get another glimpse of the strange old man, however he was nowhere to be seen. Turning away in slight curiosity with the speaker abruptly announcing “Next stop, Chicago Union Station”

A swift hour later John had made it into the city and was now entering, his so called “workplace”. A small but well-kept café, which was masked behind busier streets and conglomerate coffee shops, it lay down a small alley identified by a welcoming sign hanging from a cleft dark green building donning the name WORMWOOD CAFÉ. Walking inside, being met by a loud bell above the door, John looked around, there was only three other people scattered around the dimly light room, which reeked of coffee beans. Strolling past the engrossed millennials, John sat down at his usual spot, a somewhat comfortable highchair near the back of the café, next to a window, allowing him to stare into space when he wasn’t writing, which unfortunately, was a very common occurrence. Pulling out his laptop and sitting it upon the black polished wooden table, A cheerful shout from a slender figure emerged from the staff area.

“Just the usual Jonny boy?”

Immediately causing everyone to look up at this eccentric figure, “Yeah that’s fine” John hesitantly shouted back. The others in the room now gazing upon him, before mindlessly being sucked back intro their phones and tablets. With an expressionless look on his face, John stared into the harrowing nothingness on his screen. The only words sprawled across the pitiful landscape were Chapter One. He certainly had his work cut out for him. Methodically tapping away at the wooden desk trying to think of a good opening line, John was startled by a plate being planted on his table.

“There you go boss, toast and a donut for you”

John looked up at the waiter and his lifelong friend, Anthony Stiles Chamberlain, He was 5”11 with scruffy blond hair, bright blue eyes and what could only be described as a wicked smile, a frequent joker who John had grew up with and was the closest thing to a real family he had ever had. “Cheers Ant” John proclaimed

“Dude, enough of that, stick with Stiles” His friend sternly replied. He hated being called Ant and preferred being addressed by his middle name Stiles, however John had always thought it sounded ridiculous and loved winding him up, so would occasionally call him Ant.

Smiling to himself John sarcastically replied “Cheers Stiles”

“That’s better Jonny boy” Stiles then looked down and nodded at the blank page on the laptop with wide eyes “Damn, you’re making some serious headway there”

“I know right, at this rate I’ll be done in what…2 maybe 3 years”

“Easy publication, I’m calling it now”

“Fucking hope so, I don’t exactly fancy living on streets”

“Really? I think prostitution would suit you, certainly make more money than you do pretending to be an author”

“Well you’re not wrong there”

“Ha, I’ve never been wrong in my life”

John took a few seconds to think to himself “Yeah… like when you claimed to be able to tell the future and lost half your wages betting on the Cubs, or let me think… that time you claimed you knew how to speak French to pick up girls and ended up just asking them for directions”

“Okay maybe once or twice. Anyway, you still on for tonight?” Quickly changing the subject to avoid any further reminders of being wrong

“yeah, I’m still down, my place around 10?”

“Sounds good” The conversation was then interrupted by the ring of the bell at the door, as a new customer entered the café “I better go serve them” he stated before jotting off

“Off you go then…. ANT” Prompting Stiles to turn back and give John a menacing look.

Whilst working away in deep concentration, hoping to produce a masterpiece, the hours began to burn away, and the next thing John knew it was 6pm. John was pleased with the 4 pages he managed to assemble, as it was more than his usual daily workload. As he packed up his things, he noticed the entire café was now empty, which made him wonder how long he was sitting in the room alone. Picking up his bag, and walking over to the counter, he placed some cash down to pay for his food and drink throughout the day. Shouting to the back room “That’s me off Stiles! See you tonight” being met by complete silence “Idiot” John muttered to himself before exiting the café.

John arrived back home in a taxi from the station, he never walked home at this time, just to avoid any problems. Walking up to his apartment door, alarm was instantly raised as the door hovered open by a few inches. Immediately setting down his bag, he steadily opened the door, peering through to his empty hallway. Fearing the worst upon entering, he picked up the first stern object in touch, an umbrella, just in case he had to defend himself. With the umbrella propped up as a weapon, John slowly creeped his way further into the apartment. Submerged in silence, his heart began to race “What if they’re still here” “What if they’re armed” So many deadly possibilities crossed his mind. John even contemplated tucking tail and running away, but it was too late now he was in the apartment, wielding a fucking umbrella of all things. Step after step of muted movement, John focused on trying to slow down and control his breathing, inspecting the apartment for intruders or stolen goods, John was surprised to see everything the way he left it in his living room, he then examined his kitchen, and the only things missing was a clean countertop. Finishing his search by checking his bedroom, John was relieved to see everything untouched and no intruder. Leisurely, he lowered down his trusty weapon and sat the umbrella next to his bedroom door, followed by a sigh of relief as he walked over to shut his apartment door. He was contemplating whether he closed it properly in the morning or if he distracted by his conversation with the neighbour, well it didn’t matter now, it was an intruder free zone, and nothing was missing, it was just a minor scare that he would make sure not to happen again. As he shut the door and went to pull the latch across, a moment of terror crashed through his whole body like a tidal wave, “The bathroom! I never checked the bathroom” his brain so kindly reminded him. He turned to go and inspect the one room he carelessly forgot about, only to be met by small figure in front of him, before even having time to react, he couldn’t move, “what…. what’s going on” he thought to himself. He looked down to the realisation of a large silver blade sticking into his gut and being removed as smoothly as pen meeting paper, trying his hardest to get words out without success John dropped to his Knees with one hand desperately clutching at the dark figure in front of him and the other now holding his fresh wound. Helplessly looking up at the culprit, moonlight shone through apartment window, giving John a glimpse of the dark figures face. The warm brown eyes and innocent smile of his sweet little neighbour were no longer, instead a blood curdling stare and a malicious smile that would torment the devil himself. Managing to muster out through the clots of blood now filling his throat “B..B..Bel?” before dropping flat onto the ground. Fading away into unconsciousness.

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