#Nine percent third anniversary | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

domripley · 7 months

Text

Amanda Harper Fluff Alphabet

Warnings: This is kind of an AU, she’s still her character completely, its just the Escape Room never happened! Also implied/Referenced smut!

Activities - What do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them?

Amanda likes to go to the beach with you, as well as taking long walks. Occasionally, the two of you will go see movie.

Beauty - What do they admire about their s/o? What do they think is beautiful about them?

Amanda knows yours your personality is beautiful, the fact you are patient with her. Looks don’t matter to her, but she thinks everything about you is beautiful.

You think everything about her is beautiful. From her personality, to her scars, to her looks. You remind her every single day too.

Comfort - How would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.?

When Amanda is having a panic attack, you hold her, and tell her you’re not going to leave her side. She trusts you a hundred percent, and so she knows you won’t leave her. After she’s calmed down, you’ll go get her a glass of water.

Dreams - How do they picture their future with their s/o?

Amanda pictures you and her in a nice house, with a dog. Happily married, and with two kids.

Equal - Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

Outside of the bedroom, you both are equals. Inside of the bedroom, she is the dominant one. She doesn’t like being touched, although she does really trust you, she just doesn’t like it.

Flight - Would they be easy to forgive their s/o? How are they fighting?

Amanda forgives you easily if its small little arguments. Since she doesn’t like yelling, she’ll walk away for awhile, or she’ll go to the other room.

You forgive her easily as well for small arguments, and when she walks away, you know to give her the space she needs.

Gratitude - How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?

Amanda is very grateful, and she loves to tell you and show you. She’ll buy you flowers, cook you dinner

Honesty - Do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? Or do they share everything?

Amanda doesn’t keep any secrets from you, she likes to tell you everything. You like to tell her almost everything. The only thing you keep from her is gifts for her birthday, Christmas, and anniversaries. Amanda hated surprises, and you love them.

Inspiration - Did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helped them overcome personal problems?

You’ve helped her become more comfortable with herself especially when it came to her scars.

Jealousy - Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?

Amanda doesn’t get jealous often, but when she does at first she gets quiet. She’ll hold your hand, and tell you she loves you in front of the person. Of course, you say it back without any hesitation.

Kiss - Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?

Amanda is a very good kisser, and she’ll start off kissing you slowly. Which always ends with you being breathless, and you wanting more. Your first kiss was on your third date, when you guys went to a fancy restaurant. It was romantic, and it meant a lot.

Love Confession - How would they confess to their s/o?

Amanda wanted it to be special, and so she took you to the beach and the two of you had a picnic. She wrote you a letter, and told you she loved you so much. The fact that you stuck around through the bad times made her love you more, and was very appreciative of you.

Marriage - Do they want to get married? How do they propose? What would the marriage be like?

Amanda wants to get married to you when the time is right, she wants enough time to plan a wedding with you. She would get down on one knee and ask, while you two were at dinner with friends.

Nicknames - What do they call their s/o?

Amanda calls you baby most of the time, and you love it.

On Cloud Nine - What are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious for others? How do they express their feelings?

When Amanda brought you over to meet her friends, all her friends knew the two of you were in love with each other. The way the two of you looked at each other, and it was the happiest she’s been in a long time.

PDA - Are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag with their s/o in front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching?

Amanda will kiss you in front of others, but it won’t be excessive. She’s respectful in the sense she won’t make out with you in front of your family, or hers.

Quirk - Some random ability they have that’s beneficial in a relationship.

Amanda and you are both really good at communication. It plays a big role in your relationship, and so it helps the two of you a lot.

Romance - How romantic are they? What would they do to make their s/o happy? Cliché or rather creative?

Amanda tries to be romantic as much as she can when it comes to your guises dates. But in the bedroom or anywhere else, she’s not very romantic.

Support - Are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? Do they believe in them?

Amanda believes in you a hundred percent, no matter what it is. She’ll help you when your working on your homework for your classes.

Thrill - Do they need to try out new things to spice up your relationship? Or do they prefer a certain routine?

Amanda prefers the routine you two have when it comes to your date nights. In the bedroom, however, she enjoys trying new things with you.

Understanding - How good do they know their partner? Are they empathetic?

You’re very understanding, and that helps you with being patient. In the beginning of your relationship, it came in handy. It’s what makes you two strong.

Value - How important is the relationship to them? What is it’s worth in comparison to other things in their life?

Amanda’s relationship with you is very important to her. She loves you, and will continue you to love you.

Wild Card - A random Fluff Headcanon.

In the beginning of your relationship, Amanda would be the big spoon only. She didn’t want you to see her scars, but when she finally opened up to you, she let you be the big spoon. Although she prefers having her arms around you.

XOXO - Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?

Amanda is very affectionate, and one her favorite things to do is cuddle. Being able to hold you, or be held by you.

Yearning - How will they cope when they’re missing their partner?

Amanda and you will facetime every night until you or her get back. It helps to know that you’re safe, plus she loves seeing your face and hearing your voice.

Zeal - Are they willing to go to great lengths for the relationship? If so, what kind of?

Amanda will go to great lengths no matter what, because you mean a lot to her.

#amanda harper x reader #my writing #mine

1 note · View note

bugletv61 · 1 year

Text

The Basic Principles Of Tamil TV News

Let’s deal with it: Tamil is a lovely foreign language, and Tamil culture is even even more fascinating. What's to mention that this is merely how a society may expand by being inspired through it? Why is it so cool? It's tough to decide on apart the variations. There were actually a great deal of interesting resemblances. There are distinctions in how we connect with each various other that you may recognize easily. Tamil, on the other palm, has some different patterns. This Author have made a smudge in the Indian amusement industry and are enjoyed nationwide. India is one of nine countries in which the television system TVA has actually a solid name, implying viewership was up to 8 million in 2012 – nearly fifty percent of that in India and nearly the total 8 million in the UK [resource: Nielsen]. Nevertheless, some updates organisations, having said that tough to examine, have identified in latest years the top quality of the TVA scores. Tamil serials represent a large range of personalities set in different times and worlds, supplying viewers lots of perspectives. The primary character from the serials is not constantly of similar age, sex, background (i.e. is an true kid or not of the very same loved ones), or is an older lady. Some of these personalities are older than the characters who participate in along with the characters, others they have simply lately began to become mindful of (like the character called Agni who participates in like a boy). The Tamil tv sector has produced lots of productive dramatization, including Sembaruthi, Neethane Enthan Ponvasantham, Thirumathi Hitler, and more. It is worth taking note that the film industry helps make up one-third of Tamil Nadu's net exports, though in addition to films, movie and Television, there are actually still films and television made and made in Tamil Nadu, of which some even more than fifty percent acquire its name from Tamil text. Right now, you can easily stream these amazing Television shows on ZEE5 without disruptions. In simple fact, I believe they're a huge excellence -- it's a massive quantity of cash for Television network to build a live Television program in the kind of a game. For an amusement show, it takes a lot of folks to happen to an home along with an apartment and the activity permits to be carried out without them possessing to obtain in the means. Barry and I have been working on it.

Tamil web content has got worldwide appeal due to its home entertainment ratio. The video game character Shinnarashita Katchan is shown being shot by the lead character in the main story as a result. Nonetheless, even additional characters are featured in flicks, as they are both capable to travel between universes through merely functioning at the rate of illumination. The principal character's main struggle is additionally additionally presented in the manga. The smooth access used by streaming platforms like ZEE5 has boosted the recognition of Tamil content. Aside from, electronic downloads have also happen a lengthy way, featuring on YouTube after-hours program produced readily available on YouTube. Depending on to Rani, streaming video has come to be such a large smash hit in the Tamil neighborhood in the final handful of many years that it is complicated for some people to find a video without subtitles. Tamil serials have tried out along with numerous styles and component material that educate and involve a diverse viewers. Right now in its 25th wedding anniversary, The Art of Manuscripts by G. Michael Kagan offers a glimpse into this background of writing on a day-to-day basis. The text message of Manuscripts provides the chance to look into the idea of writing the work of males on various self-controls; a job that ought to not be seen as anything else except as a tip of how these self-controls built. Coming from fact Television reveals to day-to-day cleansing soap operas, Tamil material induces positivity and creates a meaningful connection along with readers. Along with a emphasis on the emotional and social effects of being coming from a minority background, Tamil presents center on their customer who has actually take in of bias and fascism. TBS has generated an 'experience course (e.g. "Pantor" or "Reeve") to show readers around the world with tales from Tamil audio speakers'. Whether you are looking to soak your feet in Tamil TV series or you are actually finding highly-rated dramatization, ZEE5 has a collection of the finest Tamil serials that you can binge-watch anytime. With over 300 series in our collection, you'll discover brand-new networks through day, brand-new shows every Tuesday, brand-new initial shows every week or on a everyday manner.

#big boss tamil #tamil tv #tamil voice over

0 notes

peanutpinet · 3 years

Text

Nine Percent 3rd Year Anniversary Scenario

Yes, yes, I know, it's been 3 days since their actual 3rd year anniversary. Yes, I had a brainfart and knew that I forgot something and didn't realise until late at night (like 10pm or 11pm). But hey, better late than never, right? RIGHT?! (My inner self: funny). Anyways, I wish them all nothing but the best for both their career and personal life. May they be able to do whatever they want and not be judged or be commented anything negative. Alright", scenario time!!

Pics are from: @ninepercent._.forever on Instagram

Cai Xukun

A.N: yes, yes, finally got some more soft pics uwu, thanks Aliya, okie" scenario

I imagine that you were rushing to get this limited edition record/album from your local music shop because not only was it limited edition, but the artist also signed them personally and not the ones where they just copy 1 signature for all the copies but they actually signed them with a pen and all but no one knew about it because they just came out with it but you were lucky because you had a friend working at the music store. You immediately texted your friend, telling them to keep one for you as you were now rushing out the door in your hoodie and sweats with sandals.

Upon arriving, you were wondering where your friend was since you just wanted to pay for the album and leave. You quickly texted your friend which they mentioned that they had to run a few errands for a bit since it was exactly lunchtime when you came.

Sighing, you decided to just look around but stopped at your tracks when you saw none other than Cai Xukun, the very artist whose album you asked your friend to keep. Not wanting him to notice what a mess you look, you hid behind the shelves and peeked through, observing what he was doing. It wasn't until Kun suddenly called you out that you completely blew your cover.

"You know, I'm not that scary to approach" Kun blurted, not moving his gaze away from the albums

"I--I'm sorry, I didn't mean to st-stalk you. It's just that, I'm a fan and I'm waiting for my friend, they work here and I've asked them to keep one of your albums that you personally sign and, what am I even saying?!" you blabbed, covering your face with your hands and hoodies

"I can sign it specifically for you, if you'd like" Kun smiled, looking up to face you

"Oh my, yes, umm, thank you so very much" you blurted, bowing at him

"Relax. You don't have to bow. C'mere, we can take a picture as well :)" Kun exclaimed, nudging you to go there

and let's just say, you and Kun had a nice lil chat after your little meetup session whilst waiting for your friend to come back. You also made a lil note to thank your friend for leaving

Chen Linong

For this one, I imagine that you, Nongnong and some old school friends were going on a road trip together and stayed in an Airbnb. During the first night, you were supposedly sleeping with your friend (girl) but that night, you guys just finished watching a horror/thriller movie (which you just cuddle up in Nong's arms since you were terrified, if you actually like watching horror, just pretend that this one terrified you quite a bit). After the movie, you couldn't really sleep and it was already nearly 3 in the morning that you went out of your room and to the kitchen to grab a light snack and heard some footsteps.

Scared, you unconsciously grabbed the kitchen knife and turned around to face the person that crept up on you; which turns out to be Nongnong. He immediately held his hands up in defeat but the same time chuckling on why are you holding a kitchen knife. You shyly admitted to him that you couldn't sleep because of the movie you watched; it also didn't help that your friend sometimes talks in their sleep.

Humming, Nongnong asked if you didn't mind sleeping with him. He said that he'll definitely make sure that you'll be asleep before he sleeps and he also suggested that you guys watch some cartoon. Since you and Nongnong have known each other for years and occasionally have sleepovers (of course in different rooms), you didn't mind sleeping with him since back in high school, you had a trip and you slept on his shoulder whilst being on the bus.

Because you were also quite tired and really wanted some rest, you agreed and the both of you went to Nongnong's room. Nongnong then allowed you to sleep on whichever side of the bed as he grabbed his iPad and opened your favourite cartoon. In a matter of a few episodes, you were finally asleep and Nongnong tucked you in before patting your head and sleeping as well.

In the next morning, you woke up surprisingly well. You didn't know if it's because you were watching cartoons with Nongnong or that it was just Nongnong in general making you safe. You decided to head to the kitchen to grab something to drink but then your friends teased you to call your "boyfriend" out to have breakfast all together.

You then blushed and head back to the room, seeing Nongnong yawning as he sat on the bed, asking you if you had a good night sleep which you nodded and told him that the others are waiting for you both to have breakfast.

"Did you have a good night sleep (Y/N)?" Nongnong asked, still yawning

"Y-yea, I owe you Nong, thank you" you stuttered, looking away

"Oi, lovebirds!! Hurry up or you won't have any breakfast" your friends teased

"Let's not keep them waiting shall we sweetie?" Nongnong commented, getting up and stretching

"Wh-what?" you mumbled

"Oh, I thought you already know that I like you since I know that you like me" Nongnong mentioned

"Wh-what?! When?! Wh-when did I?! OH NO!!" you blabbed, covering your blushing face

"In your sleep, last night, right before I fell asleep. There's nothing to be shy about. I like you too (Y/N) <3, let's go eat!!" Nongnong exclaimed, grabbing your hand and dragging you out of the room

Fan Chengcheng

For this one, I imagine that you and Chengcheng were friends in high school. You knew him since back in junior high and while your first impression of him wasn't all that good since you thought he'd be a spoiled brat since he came from a wealthy family and the younger brother of one of the country's famous actress. But as it turns out, he was very hardworking despite not paying that much attention in class.

A/N: let's rewind a bit how you both got close

You were stuck as his lab partner for a whole year back in junior high which at first you didn't really want to since you knew he didn't pay attention in class that much and you'd worry that in the end, you'd have to do all the job while he just gets the credit. But nope, big mistake.

As soon you were paired up, Chengcheng didn't waste time asking for your contact after school and told you that you guys should stay at the library after school on the day of your lab so you can get the job done that day as well. Now, to say you were amazed was an understatement. You were practically impressed that Chengcheng understood most of the job and even concluded the paper.

But one time, you guys had to stay at the library till late at night and Chengcheng even ordered food the minute he heard your stomach grumble (cue you being embarrassed). Afterwards, you guys just talk over things like your likes and dislikes and Chengcheng even brought you home up till your doorstep. Ever since, the both of you have been inseparable. Well, that is until Chengcheng said he had to leave to join Idol Producer.

It was rough. He wasn't able to contact you since his phone was taken from him. However, you did try your best to send actual letters to him which surprisingly, he received and even send you back some letters as well. You wouldn't admit it but you miss him and actually have a crush on him. You were going to tell him but when he actually made it into 9%, you knew you wouldn't be able to stand a chance against all the other female artists so, you texted Cheng, saying your congratulations and the same time cut off your friendship, to the point you even blocked his number. You couldn't deal with heartbreaks because it was just too much and you really wanted Chengcheng to focus on his career.

Unfortunately, the past few days were not easy for you. It was very painful, especially seeing how happy Chengcheng was in L.A. You're sad and wasn't focused on school at all. But one Saturday morning changed everything for you. You had never been so thankful to be awake so early in the morning until this day.

It's been 2 weeks since you cut your friendship and any sort of communication with Chengcheng and during those 2 weeks, your sleep schedule was a mess to the point that today, you slept at 1 and suddenly woke up at 5(ish) in the morning. You twist and turn yet you still couldn't sleep. Eventually, it was 6 in the morning and you decided to just get up and have an early morning walk to clear your mind.

You got changed and pulled on your favourite coat (which was actually one of Chengcheng's but you forgot) and head out to walk around your neighbourhood. Until you stumble upon a familiar stair walk. It was one where you and Chengcheng hung out after you finished your report and heading back home. The memory caught you off-guard that tears started to stream down your face and you tried your best to wipe them until a familiar voice startled you.

"Are you crying because of stress because finals are in a month or because you haven't seen me in so long? Because I sure as hell miss talking to you, too" a familiar voice exclaimed

"OMO, Ch-cheng?! FAN CHENGCHENG?!" you blurted, whipping your head to see Chengcheng just a few flights below you

"I miss you too (Y/N). It was tough not being able to talk to you through those 4 months and even when I was in L.A." Chengcheng mumbled, walking towards you

"I--I'm sorry Cheng. I didn't want to interfere with your life. I know that you've wanted to become an idol/artist and I know I wouldn't exactly match the people you'll be hanging out, I--" you blabbled until Chengcheng pulled you into a hug, patting your head

"I don't care. Sure, I may meet lots of new people. But no one can replace you. Plus, who am I going to take with me to night markets when I'm hungry and take pretty pictures together with? Of course, that's you!! I wouldn't switch you for anyone or anything in the world. I don't care that you blocked my number because I can always put in my numbers again. So please, don't leave me. Now, let's go have breakfast, hmm?" Chengcheng grinned, pulling away from the hug, smiling as he tucked a hair behind my ear, caressing my cheek in the process

Justin Huang

aFor this, Imma do something slightly different than previous Justin scenarios. So, I'm going to imagine that you're Justin's senior back in primary school. Justin has a vivid memory of what you did for him (which was standing up to the bullies) but you didn't remember him that well since you had a 2 (almost 3) year gap.

*Also, let's say that you were in campus (3rd year) whilst Justin had just turned 19

You were just trying to have a nice "normal" day in school since finals were just right around the corner. Everything was going so well and finals were not bad at all. It was the studying process that was annoying to you because your dorm were filled with either parties or gossips all in the halls whilst the library of your campus was always hogged by random people (like hello? are you here to study or to live here?). Anyways, lucky for you, a small studying cafe just opened near your dorm and so you decided to just stay there and study.

The past few days were nice. The cafe was calm and everyone was either actually studying or chatting (but they weren't loud and unreasonable like those in campus). Until one time, there was this boy, looked like he's in his teens and forgot his wallet to pay since it seemed that his phone ran out of battery. Because the drink was already being made, he couldn't exactly cancel or anything. Sighing, you got up and decided to pay for the boy who turned to bow at you, thanking you. Until the boy looked up and immediately recognised you.

"Eh?! JIEJIE?! It's me!! Just....uhhh, how bout we sit down and talk" Justin softly exclaimed, grabbing you and went to sit back at your table

After a bit of talking, you were taken aback that the boy/junior you helped back then was now this handsome tall young man. The both of you talked quite a lot since it has been years since you last saw each other. The two of you exchanged contacts and Justin proposed that you'd meet up again since he was in town for a few weeks.

But that plan somewhat backfired since Justin couldn't wait to see you again so he just straight up went to meet you since you told him where you lived. Instead of being a "brat" like most kids his aged, he was very polite with your parents, telling them that whilst he was younger, he'll protect you and bring you back before 10pm.

It was nice to catch up with Justin. You realised how mature he is for his age and even had to miss out on normal teen stuff like going out with friends, struggling with assignments and finals together. But Justin said that while he does feel sad for missing out on lots of things, he said that he loves what he does and he learnt so much.

Everything was going well with the both of you until Justin's sasaengs finds out about you. Some made fake accounts, threatening you to stay away from Justin. You know better than to deal with those immatures so you just blocked them from your social media and went on with your life.

But damn the universe is testing you because some of the sasaengs actually go to the same campus as you do. The first few meetings with them were still manageable. But they aren't called sasaengs for nothing. Because it slowly escalated and things got more physical to the point you started to distance yourself from Justin.

But Justin noticed your change in behaviour. He was so fed up one day that he went all the way to your campus to figure out what has made you like this. He didn't care about the amount of ppl suddenly paying attention to him because all he cared about was finding you; which he found you exactly when the sasaengs attacked.

Immediately, he didn't waste any time and called mama Ting, telling him about the sasaengs and have him report them to the police or something. Justin then immediately called out the sasaengs, threatening them and telling everyone who was watching to never bully anyone ever again; regardless of the reasoning.

Justin then took you out of your campus and to the cafe where you guys first reconnect again. He apologised for getting you involved in this mess but the same time that he doesn't want to be separated from you; adding that he'll always be there like you did when you were young.

"Jie, why didn't you tell me? I know you're strong enough to take care of yourself. Heck!! You helped me back in primary school!! I grew up, getting stronger so one day when we meet again, you wouldn't think of me as a whimp" Justin exclaimed

"I never thought of you as a whimp, Justin. But sometimes, you just need an extra hand" you replied

"Look who's talking? But I'm serious jie. Please tell me whenever this happens. I'll show no mercy!!" Justin boasted

"Ya!! Just because you're famous and all, you shouldn't be like, especially towards women" you complained

"Hehehe, it's not that. It's just that ppl should get what they deserve. Anyways, I'm hungry, let's eat!! My treat!!" Justin exclaimed

Lin Yanjun

Help, I miss Yanjun so much :(( but for reals though, I don't want to pressure him or complain much because honestly, I can somewhat understand him since I'm an introvert too. Alright, I don't want to give off this negative energy so let's jump into the scenario :)

Alright, for this I'll imagine that you're visiting Yanjun who's in Taiwan because he was taking some rest. Honestly, you were quite nervous since you had never been to Taiwan and met Yanjun from work (this is a story for another time). One of the main reasons why you were nervous is because you were going to meet his parents and even spend your time living with him and his family when you don't really know their culture that well.

But honestly, there was nothing to worry about since Yanjun's parents heard nothing but good things from both Yanjun and even Zhangjing (since you were quite close with Zhangjing). When you arrived, you tried your best to be polite even though you were very awkward and stuttered a lot. But when Yanjun's sister came, she helped make you feel at home and ease despite being slightly younger than you.

Within hours, you and Yanjun's sister became close and she even shared some embarrassing moments of Yanjun to you (which Yanjun found out and deal with his siter later on). And within days, Yanjun's parents showed no signs of disliking you at all. Instead, you and his mom actually went to the market a few times together and even cooked together.

Time skip to a few days before you have to go back to your country

Yanjun's parents thought that it was a good idea for both you and Yanjun to go out, just the both of you since you had been spending so much time with his family and rarely went out with just Yanjun for a whole day. So, they set things up and made sure that it would just be the two of you; they even went as far as letting Yanjun use the car.

Yanjun already knew where he would take you; the ocean (one of his favourite places to be). When you arrived, you wasted no time and getting out of the car, taking off your shoes and running on the sand, barefeet; which of course, Yanjun chuckled whilst taking pictures of you.

The two of you left your shoes by the rocks so they wouldn't get taken by the ocean and walked hand in hand along the shoreline. Stopping right where the sun was setting and just lean on each other, enjoying the moment, until you noticed your shoes were getting taken by the ocean. You immediately rushed to get your shoes; forgetting that you couldn't really swim that well.

Eventually, Yanjun caught up with you and held you back, reminding you that you couldn't quite swim. Chuckling, he took off his jacket and handed it to you before going towards the ocean to get your shoes.

"Jun...be careful!!" you exclaimed

"I'll be fine (Y/N). You should be careful. I wouldn't want you to get wet and sick later on" Yanjun reminded you

"Hmm. OH!! You got it!! Thank you so much!!" you giggled, jumping a bit

"Hey, hey, be careful!!" Yanjun reminded as you jumped to hug him

"You know, you're similar to the ocean. You're as cool, calm and collective when you need to but the same time you're there whenever people needs you just like how humans need water. You also help people calm down when they feel frustrated. You make me feel safe. You make me relax when I feel nervous" you blurted, hugging Yanjun tightly as you inhaled his scent

"(Y/N)..." Yanjun muttered

"Which makes me confused why would you choose a child-like, hard-headed, weirdo..." you mumbled, but Yanjun shut you up by pecking your lips

"Because, isn't that how magnet works? Opposites attract each other. Though I'd say that we are quite similar in the hard-headed side but at least we're willing to tone that down. But for reals, while I make you calm, you make me excited. You burst me up. You're like a happy pill and I'm addicted to you. Now, let's head back, mom and dad made hotpot for dinner. C'mon, I'll carry you whilst you just hold onto our shoes" Yanjun chuckled as you went on his back, leaning on him whilst talking about where you guys should have a date next

Zhu Zhengting

For mama Ting, I imagine that you have this upcoming show which was your first live stage show. And while you were just a backup dancer, you were still one of the best dancers in Yuehua despite only being hired for a couple of months.

You were so excited and can't wait since you've been practicing very hard the past few days, along with helping Zhengting since he asked you to be his dancing partner for his new mv that's coming out in a month. Speaking of Zhengting, it was him that actually recommended you to Yuehua and him that got you hired in the first place.

Anywho, it was finally showtime and you had just finished getting ready with the rest of the backup dancers. And ofc, you, along with the other backup dancers helped kill the show that the crowd was cheering loudly.

After the show was over, you all took pictures with the artist and a few individual pictures before the stage manager called it a wrap. You then went to go get changed when Zhengting texted you, asking to meet up in the dance practice room you guys normally used.

You told him that you just finished changing and will be there in 10 minutes. Upon arriving, you looked around to find Zhengting and was shocked when he softly called you out whilst holding a boquet of flowers.

"Ting? What's all this? Are you gonna meet up with someone?" you questioned, tilting your head slightly "This is for you!! Congratulations on your first live stage performance!!" Zhengting mentioned, handing you the flowers

"Ahhh, isn't this a bit too much? I was just a backup dancer anyways..." you muttered, looking down at the flowers, avoiding Zhengting's gaze

"Well, you won't be for long. I want you to dance with me, live. Roughly a month or two after the mv comes out. If you don't mind that is" Zhengting asked, scratching his head

"Wh, what? Are you serious?! Like legit? Not joking?! Cause if you're serious then ofc I would love to!!" you exclaimed

"Re-really?! Oh I feel so relieved. I was afraid you'd reject me. I mean my offer. I uhhhh...." Zhengting stuttered

"Relax. I'd never reject your offer. Or even you, Ting. You helped me get this far. Plus, I think I'd be the one to worry if you'd reject me..." you mumbled, fiddling with your fingers

"What?! No, why would I ever reject you, (Y/N). You're pretty, smart, talented, kind. You're an amazing person. If you don't believe me then let's go have dinner, I know you must be starving, c'mon, my treat!!" Zhengting mentioned, grabbing you and dashing off to eat hotpot

Wang Ziyi

For Ziyi, I imagine that you guys were spending the day to the amusement park that was near the beach as well. So, the plan was for you both to go to the amusement park as soon as it opens and ride as much rides as possible before 4pm then head to the beach and jusy chill till dinner time.

You were so excited since it's been so long since you went to an amusement park and beach. Now, the reasoning why you chose this specific amusement park wasn't just because it was right beside the beach. But also where you and Ziyi got to actually know each other.

Let's rewind a bit shall we

So, you guys were high school friends and one time your squad wanted to go to the amusement park so ofc, you joined in. But what you didn't know was that Ziyi (the school's best basketball player) and his squad were also joining (mainly because 2 of his friends and 2 of yours were dating).

Anyways, the whole day wasn't that bad until sometime before you all decided to leave for the beach, your friends sorta ditched you; even when you tried to text/call them. Now, you were left right by the food stands, sitting on one of the benches whilst waiting for any news you get from your friends.

But it wasn't just you that was "ditched" by your friends. Because not long after, Ziyi came and sat beside you, asking if you were also "ditched" by your friends to which you chuckled, telling him that they must've went on other rides. But you were actually grateful that they did. Because now, you were Ziyi's close friend.

To present time

After riding on several rides, you guys went to have lunch at the nearby food court before going back and playing the rides up until it was almost sundown.

Realising what time it was, you asked Ziyi if there were anymore rides he wanted to go on which he shook his head and instead, asked you if you wanted to go on anymore rides. To which you also shook your head. Ziyi then asked if you wanted to go to the beach which u instantly nodded.

But as you guys were walking, you saw a small food stand, selling one of your favourite snacks to the point you instantly rushed over to the food stall and grab some food, nudging Ziyi to hurry and come choose what he wants.

"Ziyi!! Hurry up!! Choose which one you want!!" you called out

"I'm coming (Y/N), don't buy too much things. We need room for dinner" Ziyi chuckled, rushing to your side

"I will always have room for dinner!! Food is life!!" you exclaimed, as you choose your snacks while Ziyi looked at you and chuckled

Xiao Gui

For Xiaogui, let's say that you guys have been friends since young and he would always be there for you since he's always so hyper while you were so shy in making friends.

Throughout your school life till high school, Xiao gui has always been there to help you make new friends and study (ocassionally). Not to mention, you were the one to come up with his nickname, Xiao Gui. But unfortunately he had to leave to join idol producer. But that never stopped you guys from sending each other letters/text (when he got his phone).

Time skip to your university graduation

While Xiao gui was busy with his idol life since he debutted in 9%, you were busy with school and now, after so long, you were finishing your degree.

After the ceremony and getting your actual degree, you and your friends were heading to take pictures. But as you were taking pictures, your friends told you to stay there for a bit whilst they go grab a quick drink.

But as your friends left, you saw a familiar figure, holding a boquet of flowers, heading your way. As they got closer, you realised that it was actually Xiao Gui.

"G-gui? Is that you? What are you doing here? Don't you have an event or something to attend?" you asked in shock

"Of course I do. It's your graduation. You didn't think I'd miss this out now did you? Look at you, dressed up like this. Last time I saw you all dressed up was...." Xiao gui commented

"The day you debutted with the other 8 as 9%" you replied, giggling at the memory

"Yea. You were with me since the beginning even until I debut and now. I'm sorry I couldn't have come sooner but here, happy graduation (Y/N)" Xiao Gui muttered, handing you the flowers

"Th-thank you, Gui. How bout we catch up over dinner?" you mumbled

"Of course, then we can go get dessert at your favourite place!!" Xiao Gui exclaimed, holding your hand as he slowly pulled you with him

"I miss you so much, Linkai" you admitted

"I miss you too (Y/N)" Xiaogui replied, a big grin formed on his face

You Zhangjing

Tbh Zhangjing's one is quite hard but I tried my best :"

Alright, for Zhangjing, I imagine that he asked you to join him to shoot for his new mv which of course you quickly agreed, not thinking twice on where, when and what is it.

You can say that it was somewhat of a mistake since the mv is a more romantic one than his previous mv(s). Not only that, on the day of the actual shoot, you were stunned on how good Zhangjing looked since he mostly wore a baggy T-shirt with sweatpants.

But this time, he dressed up so good that your mind can't comprehend. Even when it was time to shoot, your mind wondered off elsewhere until Zhangjing actually called out to you.

Thankfully, throughout the entire shoot, there were minimal errors and you didn't have to reshoot so much. And it was the final shot where both you and Zhangjing were hand in hand walking together.

Right as the camera was rolling, you were a bit distracted by the scenery of the place you were shooting that Zhangjing had to call you several times which makes you shock but Zhangjing just chuckled and extended his hand out to you which you shyly took, and as Zhangjing faced the other side, you couldn't help but blush to see this amazing view.

"(Y/N)?" Zhangjing called out

"Hmmm??? Oh sorry, the scenery was so pretty that I couldn't help but get distracted" you admitted

"It's alright, c'mon, let's just enjoy the view then" Zhangjing mentioned, extending his hand

"Hmmm. It's nice, we should go out more often" you mumbled, taking Zhangjing's hand then facing off to the scenery together

Once again, happy late 3rd year anniversary Ninepercent!! I wish you nothing but the best and may you always be happy 💕💕

29 notes · View notes

whump-a-la-mode · 3 years

Text

Nemesis - Part 2

I’m so glad that you guys are enjoying this new series! Work was pretty hectic for me today, but here is the next part, albeit a little late.

For the last vote, A won out, meaning that Hero is going to attempt to a more direct approach to aiding Villain. Though, the things they see in this part may just change their mind.

CW//Shapeshifting, cartoon violence, insults, being called ‘worthless,’ interventions, residential medical facilities, flashbacks

The blow came out of nowhere.

It was a rhetorical statement as much as it was a completely literal one. That didn’t matter in the moment, however-- the fist had very much struck Hero in the back of their head, causing them to stumble forwards.

Before them, their assailant rematerialized from thin air, gasping with a smirk upon their face. They blew on their knuckles, as if blowing smoke from a firearm’s muzzle. Stupid, arrogant kid.

“Come on!” The villain taunted. “I thought you were supposed to be good.”

Hero didn’t bother to transform before they leapt; they did that mid-air, curled fingers turning into canine claws before them. Said claws were aimed truly at the villain a few feet ahead, directed at their panicked expression.

Suddenly, Hero felt to be on the edge of a roof. Facing a completely different foe.

Throwing themself to the ground was not a conscious choice, but it was the action that they took.

The hero in lupine shape skidded to the ground, head spinning as it struck concrete. By the time they were back to all four paws, their opponent was long gone. In their wake, the door slammed closed.

Why did they...

No. This villain looked nothing like them. They shook their head, turning back to human form in order to begin tearing out the door.

The laboratory was a nightmare to navigate. White walls stretched far further than they had any right to, all looking terribly identical. Had it been any other situation, Hero would have found themself hopelessly lost.

But they could make a pretty good guess where their target had run off to. It was probably the hall where the shouting and banging was emanating from.

Hero skidded about a corner, forgetting momentarily that in human form they lacked dewclaws, causing them nearly to fall. They did not, however, turning the corner and stopping before they collided with the active battle.

Leader swore loudly as they failed to land a blow on the villain. However, their attacker missed in turn, putting themself in such a position that allowed Teammate to grab them from behind.

The villain yelled and struggled. Almost as if they’d just fallen from the roof of a building, and were now screaming, fighting back against those trying to hold them down.

Hero was on a collision course with Teammate before they so much as realized it. Halfway through the movement, their body turned from human to that of a far more formidable wildcat, easily sending their friend sprawling on the white tile. In turn, the villain their friend had been restraining freed themself.

Leader was too stunned, in the moment, to react. By the time everyone in the corridor had returned to their senses, their opponent had long since dematerialized and left.

Leaving only the three Heroes in the hallway. Two heads turned to stare at the third.

Hero’s feline ears turned back a moment, an expression that was translated to flushing as they returned to human form. Teammate pried themself off the floor, brushing dust from their uniform.

“Sorry.” Hero dipped their head.

“Why the hell did you do that?” Leader snapped. In comparison to the quiet building, it sounded like a gong being struck. “We almost had them!”

“I was, uh, trying to get them on the ground.”

“I had it handled.” Teammate commented in a far calmer tone of voice. “I don’t think we have any chance of catching up to them now, though.”

“No. Probably not. No thanks to someone.” Leader shook their head. “We were so damn close.”

“And they got the medicines too.” Teammate added.

“They what?”

“The medicines?”

“I thought those were secured.”

“Well... They were. And then they took them.”

“Oh my god, you two are stupid.” Leader hissed through gritted teeth. “Hero, what happened in the other room? I thought you had them pinned.”

“They got away.”

“You two are so stupid. I asked for a team, and this is what I get... Worthless. Well, it’s a lost cause, now. Let’s get back to the car.”

Hero and Teammate hung their heads, but weren’t about to argue. They began their walk out of the building in silence, a silence that continued until they had traversed a few flights of stairs. That was when Leader spoke up, once again, some of the most acute venom seeming to have left their voice.

“Hero... You seem nervous.”

“I’m not.”

“I know you can fight better than what I just saw. I want to know why.”

“I guess... I guess I’m not sure.”

“Are you feeling alright?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

No. Of course they weren’t sure, because it was a lie. The night prior, after their diner meeting with Hacker, they had not succeeded in getting a single second of sleep. Now, they felt like their legs-- however many they happened to have at the moment-- were made of jello.

“I’m sure. I just need some sleep.”

“And then you’ll be back to normal?”

“Yes.”

“Good. I need my best fighter back in shape. Villains don’t catch themselves, y’know.”

Except, sometimes, they did. Sometimes they tripped, right off the edge of a roof. And, sometimes, their fall haunted the dreams of the hero who had caused it.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The dorms at HQ were a lot of things. They were cramped, and cluttered, and the thermostats never seemed to work quite right. All of that, though, was normal. A life spent living in apartments and dorms had gotten Hero plenty used to making themself comfortable in small quarters.

The bad thing about them was that, living in an enclosed space with the same people for years on end, it became just about impossible to pretend they weren’t home when someone knocked on the door.

That didn’t mean they didn’t try every single time, however.

Hero nestled themself further under the blankets that covered them, burying their head beneath their pillow in an attempt to block out the incessant knocking. Eventually, they gave up, shouting back:

“Hero isn’t home. You can’t come in.”

“If Hero isn’t home how are they talking to me?” Came Teammate’s joking cadence.

“This is a recording. Please come back later or not at all.”

“Well, can I at least come in and talk to a recording of Hero?”

“Fine.”

Hero rolled over, staring at the ceiling a moment before getting off the bed to let their friend inside. They were smiling, which was automatically a red flag.

Teammate found themself a seat on the couch shoved into the corner of the dorm, while Hero returned to their bed, collapsing dramatically onto their back.

“I have a feeling that you know why I’m here.” Teammate started, in that weird voice they used when trying to calm down a civilian.

“What are you, my therapist?”

“No. But I am worried about you.”

“I told Leader already. I’m just tired.”

“Is that why you tackled me out of nowhere?”

“I was trying to tackle the villain.”

“While I was already holding them?”

“Can you just drop it? I’m fine. I just need to go to bed early tonight.”

“it’s not just today, though. You’ve been acting weird all week. Maybe longer.”

“Have not.”

“When you froze up on that roof?”

“Nope.”

“When you pretended to be sick so you didn’t have to go to that ceremony at the university?”

“Had a cold.”

“When you just let a villain punch you in the face?”

“I- Why do you have to be right all the time?”

“Not all the time. But I think everyone has been getting a bit worried about you. You haven’t been acting yourself... We just want to help. Are you sick? You can be honest with me.”

“It’s not that. I’m fine. Physically, I’m fine. So I should be fine and dandy.”

Teammate nodded.

“The anniversary.”

“You remembered?”

“They had it on the news. Though I have a feeling you didn’t need any help remembering.”

“No.”

“How many days has it been, now?”

“374.”

“Nine days since the anniversary of Villain’s capture. Nine days you’ve been acting weird. That’s an awfully interesting coincidence.”

“I’m worried about them.” Hero dipped their head. “I can’t- I can hardly sleep.”

“You’re worried about Villain?”

“Well- I’m not worried about them. Of course I’m not worried about them, they’re a villain. But...”

“But?”

“It’s been over a year, and there’s been no news. You’d think they’d be like, fighting back, or trying to escape, or something.”

“Is that what you’re worried about, them escaping?”

How were they supposed to escape when they couldn’t even open their eyes?

“I guess so, yeah. It doesn’t seem right for them to be so docile like that.”

“The rehabbers are very good.”

“I know they are. But Villain is... they’re the worst! When they were captured the city threw a parade! They’ve hurt so many people. And now they’re just gone.”

“You think they’re planning something?”

“I guess.”

“Well... why don’t you go see them?”

“What?”

“It’s not like they’re being held on some secret Alcatraz. The rehab place is just across the city. They’ll probably let you in if you just go up and ask.”

“You really think that would work?”

“Why not? Villain is probably just going to like, spit on you or something, but if it’s worrying you this much, just go see them. You’ll see that they’re under control, and then maybe you won’t tackle me anymore?”

“I’ll try not to.” Hero chuckled. “You think that’s gonna work?”

“It’s worth a try. Besides, maybe Villain will be better, this time. Those rehabbers are crazy good at their jobs. I don’t think a single villain has come out of their still being, like, evil. They have a one hundred percent success rate, as far as I know.”

Almost one hundred percent.

Almost.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

This was stupid.

It was the only thing Hero could think about, sitting there in the parking lot, staring at the building with its cute little picket fence and brightly-colored exterior.

It was a stupid plan. They had spent so long the night prior, overthinking the few brief words they had exchanged with Hacker.

Villain needed to leave that place.

At the very least, they needed to... Hero didn’t know what they needed. They needed to be contained, certainly. They were dangerous. Too dangerous to be free. But they at least deserved to be awake.

Did they?

Yes. Of course they did. If asked, Hero was unsure if they could truly defend their position on the matter, but they knew that Villain did not deserve to be in the state that they currently suffered. It wasn’t right.

That wit. That tongue. Those sharp, intelligent eyes.

Villain did not deserve to be drowned in sedatives until they could no longer remember their own name.

It did not matter where they went. Where they were contained. So long as they were allowed to be awake. Allowed to live.

They at least deserved that much.

But... Hero had no power over such things. Every possible plan they had concocted fell apart as soon as they tried to think it through. Certainly, despite its cutesy exterior, this building was heavily guarded. Even if they did manage to get Villain out of the facility, where would they take them? Hell, as soon as they were out, Villain would probably tear their throat out!

They should have just gone right back to the HQ and forgotten the whole affair. But that image of their foe, dead to the world, would not leave their mind. It was burned into their eyelids. They saw it when they blinked.

Hero had no plan. But, they had a car, and a near complete lack of self restraint.

They had no intention of going in guns blazing. They’d be taken out in seconds, and would probably land in the very same facility, being “rehabilitated.” But, if they could at least get in, then that was a significant hurdle leapt.

And they had the perfect plan to achieve that step.

Hero’s hadn’t even realized just how white their knuckles had grown from having gripped the steering wheel with such force for so long. Their fingers ached as they removed them from the wheel, exiting the vehicle.

For a moment, they stood there.

The only sort of barrier between the facility and the outside world was a white picket fence, only a few feet in height. A moderately athletic cat could jump it. A villain would have no difficulty.

Beyond the fence, the building looked almost like any medical clinic. Decorative windchimes hung from the awning overtop the entrance, which was little more than a pair of glass doors. There wasn’t even a visible lock. From either side of the main part of the structure, wings of patient rooms stretched, their windows decorated with childish crafts made of construction paper and glue.

It looked more like a civilian hospital than something holding the city’s most dangerous criminals.

Hero hated just how nervous they felt, opening the gate to the picket fence and approaching the front door. Their suspicions were correct-- the doors were unlocked, and a bell above them even chimed as they were opened.

The lobby beyond was small, consisting of only a single desk, at which a lab-coated person typed on a computer. As Hero entered, they looked up. Their eyes widened.

“Hero?” Their mouth was almost agape. “I didn’t think we were expecting a visit from you.”

“Sorry about that. It’s kind of a more... spur of the moment thing.”

“Oh? How can we help you?”

Hero approached the desk, trying to hide the way their finger refused to stop twitching.

“I...” Their shoulders slumped. They weren’t an actor by any means, but they had gotten plenty of practice in lying to Leader about how long they had spent in the gym. “A bit over a week ago, it was the one year anniversary of Villain’s capture.”

“Was it? Time flies, I suppose.”

“I was wondering if I could see them.”

“Oh? Any particular reason?”

“I’m just a little... suspicious. I want to make sure they’re doing alright. That they aren’t planning anything.”

“Hm... Well, I can understand your concern, but I assure you that Villain has been a model patient.”

“Even so... Can I see them?”

Hero could see the tips of the Labcoat’s ears growing red.

“Let me talk to the head doctor.” They stood from their desk, notably turning off their computer as they did so. “I’ll be back in just a moment.”

“No need.”

At the back of the small lobby area, a door opened, revealing a man wearing a pair of blue scrubs and a warm smile.

“I’m right here, Labcoat. Is there something you need- Oh my goodness, Hero in the flesh! For what do we get the honor?”

“Um-”

“They want to see Villain.”

That dropped Head Doctor’s smile pretty quick.

“I see.” They nodded, nearing the desk. “Wanting to visit the old nemesis, hm?”

“I just want to make sure they’re doing alright. That they aren’t... planning anything.”

Head Doctor frowned a moment, before sighing.

“I’m sorry, Hero. And to think you came all this way. But I’m going to have to say no. You see, Villain has had a hard day, today. Usually they’re very well-behaved, but they had some trouble today. I don’t think it would be the best idea to rile them up like that, right now. I’m terribly sorry.”

Hero put their hand in their pocket, ensuring that the doctors could not see as they balled it into a fist.

“I understand.” They nodded, trying their best not to grit their teeth. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It’s terribly unfortunate. If you had just come another day... But I don’t want to waste your time entirely. And it’s such a terribly long drive across town.” Again, Head Doctor’s countenance was brightened by a grin. “You won’t be able to see your nemesis today, but how about a tour? You can speak to our other patients, if you would like. They’re eating lunch right about now.”

A tour.

Hero could work with that.

“That would be great. Are you sure it’s... Are you sure it’s safe? Not that I’m worried or anything, but.”

“Of course it’s safe. It’s always safe, here. Come on. I’m sure everyone will be delighted to see you.”

Yeah. Delighted.

Head Doctor’s blue scrubs rippled under the bright florescents as they turned, heading back towards that door at the rear of the room. It felt almost too good to be true, but Hero wasted no time in following suit.

This door, unlike the others, was metal, and required a key to be passed through. It opened with a rather heavy creak, and clicked solidly as it closed behind Hero. They almost jumped.

If they were being quite honest, they had never really thought about where villains went after they were locked up. Like a hunting dog, they had little care where their prey ended up, only that they retrieved it. If they had to guess where their fallen foes ended up, they would have likely described a well-secured concrete building, complete with snipers and barbed wire.

Not a cute little hospital ward.

The door from the lobby opened into a wide-open, carpeted space, decorated by several sofas and a television, alongside a few well-stocked bookshelves. Beyond it, three hallways sprouted-- one to the front, and one to the left or the right.

Every door was wood.

“We call this the commons.” Head Doctor explained with a smile. “A sort of... hang out space. And those two halls lead to the patients rooms. Not much to see there.”

In an awfully hurried manner, they lead Hero forwards, into the hallway that led straight out from the commons. It was wide, with several doors on either side. Yet, not a single window.

“This is where me and my colleagues work, most of the the time. It’s mostly offices for our therapists. And that one, there, is my office.”

During the whole explanation, they did not stop walking forwards. They only did so at the end of the hallway, where a door was embedded.

“Um... This is the dining hall, just past this door. Everyone is eating lunch right now. I assure you that it’s perfectly safe, but I understand if you don’t want to see some of your, um, old foes.”

“It’s fine.” Hero did their best to smile. “Is Villain in there?”

“No. They decided to eat lunch in their room today.” Head Doctor chimed, opening the door. From behind it, there was no sound.

Nothing that Head Doctor said had been untrue. The dining hall was clean, immaculately so, scattered with plastic tables and chairs, both painted to look as though they were made of wood. Each table only sat two people, and most of them were full.

Full of the city’s worst. Villains who had hurt people, who had killed dozens.

They seemed happy enough, at least based upon the expressions on their faces. It was just about as typical as a cafeteria during mealtime could get.

Except for the quiet.

Even with the two dozen or so people sitting and eating, not a single one spoke. Each and every one of them seemed intent on sitting and eating the food before them.

Hero scanned the room a moment, gaze eventually setting upon one of the few tables with an empty chair. They didn't recognize the villain very well. They may have had ice-related powers, or something of the like. But they had fought, at least once. And Hero didn’t remember them being that horrible.

It was something. It was the best they were going to get.

“Head Doctor?” They spoke up.

“Yes, Hero?”

“There’s someone else here, I want to speak to.” They gestured towards the villain, sitting alone. Staring at their food. Engrossed. “We used to, um, we fought a lot. I want to talk to them.”

“Oh? Well, that’s just fine by me. It’s always good to reconcile. They’re a model patient. Do you want anything to eat?”

“No thank you.”

“Alright, then. I’ll be back at the end of lunch, if that sounds alright?”

“That’s just fine.”

“Splendid! I will see you then, Hero.”

Hero ducked their head in agreement, waiting until the doctor had left before approaching the table. They moved slowly, taking a seat across from the villain that they couldn’t so much as remember the name of. Even as they sat down, the person across from the table did not so much as bat an eye.

They only did so when Hero spoke up:

“Um, hello.”

It was oddly slow, the way in which the villain raised their head. They placed down their fork gingerly, smiling.

“Hello, Hero. I haven’t seen you in quite some time.”

“Uh, you neither. How are you doing?”

“I am doing just fine, Hero.” It was terribly stilted, the way in which they spoke, as though they had to carefully consider each word. “How are you doing?”

“Fine.”

“Did you come here to visit me?”

“Um, not you specifically. I came here to visit Villain.”

The edges of the villain’s smile flickered a moment, as if continuing to keep them upturned was quickly becoming a major effort.

“You should leave this place, Hero.” Even as they said it, their smile never fell. “It’s not worth it.”

Their hand gripped around the handle of their fork.

“Do you know where they are? Where Villain is?”

“Yes I do, Hero. I did not think you would care. It is you who put them here.”

“I didn’t do anything. Are they-” They looked around, expecting to see at least one guard, one nurse, one orderly. But the dining hall was barren of every person except villains. “Are they okay?”

“If I tell you that, I will end up like them. You do not want to be in this place, Hero. You should leave this place.”

“Um-” A single drop of sweat dripped down the side of their face, tracing their jawline. “I really suddenly need to use the bathroom.”

“It’s right there.” The villain raised a hand, pointing to a door labelled ‘16 - Restrooms′. “The bathroom is in room 43.”

Hero didn’t have to be given the hint twice.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Thanks so much for reading! Just like last time, there are two options along with every part of this story. Alongside each options is a question, so that you guys can give more specific suggestions if you so wish. The option that receives the most votes will be the choice that our Hero makes!

A.) Risk it all and attempt a prison break - Should Hero attempt to free the others, as well?

B.) Don’t take the risk. Leave and reconsider - Should Hero tell anyone what they saw?

#whump #whumpee #whumblr #nemesis #hero villain whump #whump community #villain whumpee #hero villain prompt #hero villain #choose your own adventure #choose your own whump

70 notes · View notes

arrowverse-bs · 3 years

Text

Silent Dreams (First Scene)

The final Silent Dreams sneak peek, the entire first scene. Progress has been incredibly slow due to some personal issues, but I promise I’m working on getting this out as fast as I can. Also this entire thing is subject to change.

It was supposed to be a good night.

It was their anniversary, the third of what Brainy hoped would be many, many more. He'd planned to stay in with Nia that night, to celebrate their time together with a peaceful evening to themselves and finally present to her the ring that had been hiding in their dresser for nearly four months now. He was quite confident, having calculated nearly a one hundred percent chance that she would accept his proposal, but he decided to wait until the end of the night.

All throughout dinner (both preparation and dining), he kept the ring concealed in his pocket, occasionally checking to ensure that it was still there. When it was time for dessert, he briefly considered hiding it in her portion, but a small chance of her not noticing and choking on it made him reconsider. Unlikely as it was, he'd rather not put a damper on things by causing a medical emergency.

Once dinner was finished, Nia suggested watching a movie, and the two settled onto the couch together. Approximately twenty nine minutes into The Force Awakens, Brainy noticed her leaning heavier against his shoulder. He turned to nudge her awake, only to realize that she'd slipped into a dream. That in itself wasn't a particular cause for concern; it was fairly common for her to have visions that didn't allude to any imminent threats, and considering how quiet things had been over the past few weeks, he was sixty-five percent sure that this was one such vision. Until, of course, she jolted awake and frantically declared that they needed to be on patrol with the rest of the team.

"What?" Brainy reached for the remote to pause their movie. She seemed panicked, more so than he'd seen her in a long time.

"Something terrible is going to happen," she said hastily.

"Nia, breathe." He placed both hands on her shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze. "Tell me what you saw."

"I was in a warehouse," she began, her eyes still wide and frightened. "There were people everywhere, and I was trying to get past them. I was trying to get to someone. To protect them."

"Who?"

"I don't know," she replied with a shake of her head. "I couldn't see. Everything was weirdly vague."

Brainy felt his brow furrow at that. Over the years, Nia had made great strides in learning how to interpret her visions. It was rare nowadays that one was so unclear to her.

"I don't know what's going to happen, but I know this person is in danger," Nia said desperately. "We need to get out there, Brainy."

"I will contact Kara," he promised, but that didn't seem to do much to mollify her.

"We need everyone searching," she insisted, anxiety sparkling in her eyes. "I don't know how much time we have, and whatever's going to happen, it's bad."

A small, selfish part of Brainy was quiet disappointed at the idea of abandoning their plans and postponing his proposal, but the rest of him had the sense to listen to her. She hadn't reacted to a vision like this in years; whatever she'd foreseen, it had to be significant.

"Fear not, my love," he said, rising from the couch. She rose more slowly, still shaken by her dream. "Whoever this person may be, they will be rescued."

#brainia #brainiac 5 #nia nal #i do accept constructive criticism #so if y'all think this could be improved let me know

10 notes · View notes

newstfionline · 3 years

Text

Thursday, June 24, 2021

World’s most expensive cities for expats in 2021 revealed (CNN) Ashgabat in Turkmenistan is the most expensive city in the world for overseas workers, according to this year’s Mercer Cost of Living Survey. The annual report ranks 209 cities based on the comparative cost of expenses including housing, transportation, food and entertainment, with New York City used as a baseline comparison. The Turkmenistan capital, which was number two on last year’s list, is something of an outlier in the top 10, which mostly features business hubs like Hong Kong (last year’s priciest city and this year’s second priciest), Tokyo (number four for 2021), Zurich (number five for 2021) and Singapore (number seven for 2021). Perhaps the biggest change from last year’s Mercer survey sees Beirut rising from the 45th most expensive city for international workers in 2020 to the third priciest for 2021. Mercer puts this development down to Lebanon’s economic depression, which was exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and the Port of Beirut explosion in August last year. Meanwhile, as the Euro gained almost 11% against the US dollar, European cities were ranked comparatively more expensive than their US counterparts. This led to New York City dropping out of the Mercer top 10 altogether, while Paris climbed the rankings from number 50 in 2020 to number 33 in 2021.

Pressure builds to open U.S.-Canada border (Washington Post) A Florida man takes out ads to call out the U.S. and Canadian governments for failing to lift border restrictions. Lawmakers use salty-ish language. Business owners worry about losing a second lucrative summer season. As restrictions on nonessential travel across the U.S.-Canada land border enter their 16th month this week, pressure is rising on both sides for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Biden to crack it open—even a little—or to provide something, anything, about what a reopening plan might look like. Ottawa on Monday did announce some changes at the border, to start July 5. They’d allow Canadian citizens and permanent residents who are fully inoculated with a Health Canada-authorized vaccine, and who test negative for covid-19 before and after arrival, to bypass some quarantine and testing requirements. But the announcement means most fully vaccinated foreigners, including Americans, who hope to enter Canada for nonessential purposes are out of luck. And a growing number of lawmakers, residents and business groups on both sides of the world’s longest undefended border are out of patience.

GOP filibuster blocks Democrats’ big voting rights bill (AP) The Democrats’ sweeping attempt to rewrite U.S. election and voting law suffered a major setback in the Senate Tuesday, blocked by a filibuster wall of Republican opposition to what would be the largest overhaul of the electoral system in a generation. The vote leaves the Democrats with no clear path forward, though President Joe Biden declared, “This fight is far from over.” The bill, known as the For the People Act, would touch on virtually every aspect of how elections are conducted, striking down hurdles to voting that advocates view as the Civil Rights fight of the era, while also curbing the influence of money in politics and limiting partisan influence over the drawing of congressional districts. But many in the GOP say the measure represents instead a breathtaking federal infringement on states’ authority to conduct their own elections without fraud—and is meant to ultimately benefit Democrats. The rejection forces Democrats to reckon with what comes next for their top legislative priority in a narrowly divided Senate.

The Cuba embargo (Foreign Policy) The U.N. General Assembly is expected to vote to condemn the U.S. economic embargo on Cuba, in a resumption of what has become an annual tradition at the body following a pandemic-related pause in 2020. Up until last year, the assembly had overwhelmingly voted to admonish the United States over the embargo each year since 1992. The United States and Israel tend to be the only two nations to reject the resolution, although Brazil joined them in 2019. The vote coincides with increased U.S. support for a temporary suspension of the embargo during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a recent poll showing 66 percent of Americans surveyed supporting a suspension in order for Cuba to export its home-grown vaccines. On Monday, Cuba announced that its Abdala vaccine—one of several vaccine candidates—was roughly 92 percent effective at preventing COVID-19 infection.

France’s Macron Pushes Controls on Religion to Pressure Mosques (WSJ) President Emmanuel Macron is redrawing the line that separates religion and state, in a battle to force Islamic organizations into the mold of French secularism. In recent months, his administration has ousted the leadership of a mosque after temporarily closing it and poring over its finances. Another mosque gave up millions in subsidies after the government pressured local officials over the funding. A dozen other mosques have faced orders to close temporarily for safety or fire-code violations. The government has taken these actions as a precursor to a much broader push to rein in the independence of mosques and other religious organizations across France. Mr. Macron has submitted a bill to Parliament, called the Law Reinforcing Respect of the Principles of the Republic, that would empower the government to permanently close houses of worship and dissolve religious organizations, without court order, if it finds that any of their members are provoking violence or inciting hatred. In addition, the bill would allow temporary closure of any religious group that spreads ideas that incite hatred or violence. Religious organizations would have to obtain government permits every five years to continue operating, and have their accounts certified annually if they receive foreign funding.

Can pandemic recovery plan end Italy’s years of stagnation? (AP) The COVID-19 pandemic hit Italy especially hard, killing more than 127,000 people and sending the European Union’s third-largest economy into a devastating tailspin. Yet out of that tragedy may come solutions for decades-old problems that have held back growth and productivity—and with them, a new sense of stability for the euro, the currency shared by 19 of the European Union’s 27 members. Backed by 261 billion euros from the EU and Italian government, the country’s plan for recovering from the pandemic calls for a top-to-bottom shakeup of a major industrial economy long hampered by red tape, political reluctance to change, and bureaucratic and educational inertia. The challenge is formidable: Italy has failed to show robust growth in the more than two decades since it joined the euro currency union in 1999. Execution of the recovery plan remains a risk given Italy’s often-fractious politics. But “if they succeed with even half, it will have a big impact,” said Guntram Wolff, director of the Bruegel think tank in Brussels.

Militias in Afghanistan’s north are taking up the fight against the Taliban (Washington Post) A sweeping Taliban offensive across northern Afghanistan, unchecked by overstretched government forces, has triggered a sudden resurgence of anti-Taliban militias in half a dozen provinces, raising concerns that the country could plunge into a prolonged civil war. President Ashraf Ghani has endorsed the sudden call to arms by former ethnic rival groups. The Ghani government hopes the added support will shore up the beleaguered national defense forces, which have struggled to send reinforcements and supplies to troops facing repeated Taliban attacks. But the prospect of unleashing a hodgepodge of rogue warriors to repel their old enemies also raises the specter of civil war, a state of violent anarchy that Afghans remember all too well from the 1990s. And although the armed groups have pledged to coordinate with government forces, it is also possible that effort could unravel into confused, competing clashes among purported allies. In the past several days, fighting has been reported in nine provinces across the north, and armed militias or civilian groups have formed to repel the insurgents, often fighting alongside state forces. All are loyal to local leaders from minority Tajik, Uzbek or other ethnic groups that have no love for Ghani, a member of the dominant ethnic Pashtun group based in southern Afghanistan.

China prepares for Communist Party centenary in secret (AP) Chinese authorities have closed Beijing’s central Tiananmen Square to the public, eight days ahead of a major celebration being planned to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Communist Party. The square, which normally attracts tourists from around the country, was barricaded Wednesday and will remain closed until July 2. The party will showcase the country’s rise from civil war and disastrous political campaigns in the early years of communist rule to market reforms that have created the world’s second largest economy, with a superpower status rivaled only by the United States. Old habits die hard, however, and arrangements for the July 1 anniversary remain shrouded in secrecy. Around Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City former palace complex and other scenic sites are also closed. Flyovers by air force squadrons suggest an aerial review is in the planning, but authorities have yet to release details. The ruling party was established in secrecy in 1921, following the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1912. It held its first session at a girl’s school in Shanghai, and later moved to a lake boat to evade agents of the local warlord.

Apple Daily Shuts Down (Foreign Policy) On Wednesday, crowds of Hong Kong residents gathered in support outside the headquarters of Apple Daily, one of the last bastions of media resistance to Beijing, as it sent its final edition to print. The paper announced it would close after the arrests of senior leadership this week under the draconian national security law introduced last year. Banks froze the newspaper’s assets to avoid being charged themselves. The rollout of the national security law has seen successive groups targeted: first protest leaders, then democratic politicians, and now journalists. More than 800 Apple Daily staff have lost their jobs while Hong Kong has lost its long-cherished freedom of speech. But the impact of the closure goes far beyond journalism in Hong Kong. Each move like this raises the stakes for other sectors, especially academia and entertainment. Any challenge to the government has become a risk, making self-censorship even more likely. This kind of sweeping coercion has long been the norm on the mainland; in Hong Kong, it provides more proof China has shattered its promise to maintain “One Country, Two Systems” until 2047.

Tokyo shapes up to be No-Fun Olympics (AP) The Tokyo Olympics, already delayed by the pandemic, are not looking like much fun: Not for athletes. Not for fans. And not for the Japanese public. They are caught between concerns about the coronavirus at a time when few are vaccinated on one side and politicians who hope to save face by holding the games and the International Olympic Committee with billions of dollars on the line on the other. Japan is famous for running on consensus. But the decision to proceed with the Olympics—and this week to permit some fans, if only locals—has shredded it. The official cost of the Tokyo Olympics is $15.4 billion, but government audits suggest it’s twice that. All but $6.7 billion is public money. The IOC chips in only about $1.5 billion to the overall cost. The pressure to hold the games is largely financial for the Switzerland-based IOC, a nonprofit but highly commercial body that earns 91% of its income from broadcast rights and sponsorship.

World Powers Gather for Libya Conference (Foreign Policy) World powers gather today in Berlin to discuss a path forward for Libya, ten years after a NATO-led coalition helped oust former leader Muammar al-Qaddafi and eight months since warring factions agreed to a cease-fire in the country’s six-year civil war. The group of countries last met in January 2020. Since then, the October cease-fire has been followed by the selection in February of a transitional government. Today’s discussion will focus on the next steps in Libya’s transition, including preparations for elections in December and the removal of foreign fighters still active in the country. According to United Nations estimates, more than 20,000 foreign fighters and mercenaries from Syria, Russia, Sudan, and Chad remain in Libya. Although today’s meeting is a time to improve on positive developments, Libya is still far from a functioning state. Nearly 20 percent of the population is in need of humanitarian assistance, and the country remains a magnet for human traffickers as they move desperate migrants across the Mediterranean and into Europe.

Witnesses say airstrike in Ethiopia's Tigray kills dozens (AP) An airstrike hit a busy market in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray village of Togoga on Tuesday, according to health workers who said soldiers blocked medical teams from traveling to the scene. Dozens of people were killed, they and a former resident said, citing witnesses. Two doctors and a nurse in Tigray’s regional capital, Mekele, told The Associated Press they were unable to confirm how many people were killed, but one doctor said health workers at the scene reported “more than 80 civilian deaths.” The health workers spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. The alleged airstrike comes amid some of the fiercest fighting in the Tigray region since the conflict began in November as Ethiopian forces supported by those from neighboring Eritrea pursue Tigray’s former leaders.

No laundry day in space (AP) On the International Space Station, there is no such thing as laundry day. Right now, an astronaut needs about 150 pounds of clothes in space per year, and will wear their clothes—gym, underwear, all of it—until they cannot stand the smell, and then throw the clothes away, ejecting the shirts to eventually burn up in the atmosphere. A new study, a collaboration between NASA and Procter & Gamble Co., will attempt to find a good way to clean clothes in space.

#headlines #news

1 note · View note

blouisparadise · 5 years

Photo

There were so many amazing bottom Louis fics posted or completed during the month of July. We really hope you enjoy this list. Happy reading!

1) Bound (To Falling in Love) | Mature | 958 words

Note: The sequel to this fic is #2 on this list.

Harry and Louis innocently cuddle on the couch until things get heated.

2) Nuh Uh, Honey | Mature | 1170 words

Note: This fic is a sequel to this fic, which is #1 on this list.

So this is the ending of Bound (to falling in love) but with more detail. Long story short, Louis and Harry fuck.

3) 100ft Away | Explicit | 2479 words

Harry opens Grindr for a hookup and ends up with more than he bargained for. It all works out in the end.

4) I'm Looking for Closure | Not Rated | 2503 words

Note: This fic is the third part of a series. You can read the previous parts here.

“Say you can read my mind.” Harry said to Louis as he pushed Louis down onto the mattress. Louis squirmed as the covers rubbed against his skin.

“I can’t read your mind.” He said simply to Harry as he reached up to put his hands against Harry’s chest, trailing them down to Harry’s narrow hips.

“My mind is saying that I should just… just fucking go back in time. Go back so I could be your first.” Harry said, leaning down to lick into Louis’ hot mouth.

Or They finally fuck, sorry, I mean, make love.

5) The IT Fic | Mature | 3112 words

A fic where Harry is Pennywise & Louis is Georgie... Louis goes down to the sewers & Harry fucks him with a balloon as a condom.

aka a pwp that i wrote for shits and giggles. & yes, louis is of age

6) Souls | Mature | 3890 words

The first time Harry showed Louis two ghosts.

7) The Unfinished Fic (With an Ending) | Not Rated | 4013 words

Note: There is no smut in this fic, but it contains omega Louis, so we’ve included it in this monthly roundup.

Louis greatly regretted all of his life decisions up to this point. Okay fine, maybe not all of them, but definitely a vast majority. After all, if he’d not told one little white lie about loving cricket just to impress a fit guy at the pub, maybe he wouldn’t be stuck at what was, one hundred percent, the most boring “sporting” event of his entire life.

8) Save You Tonight | Mature | 4841 words

Note: There is no smut in this fic, but it contains omega Louis, so we’ve included it in this monthly roundup.

Louis is a headstrong Omega in charge of his own life. But he's more than grateful when an Alpha comes along when he needs it the most.

9) Whisk Me Off My Feet | Explicit | 5054 words

When Louis locks himself out of his apartment in just a pair of novelty underwear, he hopes his new neighbor can come to his rescue.

10) Can You Feel the Fever | Explicit | 5113 words

Note: This fic is a sequel to this fic.

Tour has Harry exhausted. Luckily exactly what he needs is waiting for him in his Sacramento dressing room.

11) Gotta Catch 'em All | Not Rated | 5186 words

Louis loves Pokémon GO, he gets a little crazy and ends up ramming into a guy. Harry gets mad, calls him a brat and treats him like one. Oh, and they're in central park.

12) I Just Can't Get Enough Of You | Not Rated | 5466 words

Or the one were Harry got inspired from watching Louis on The Late Late Show.

13) Why Don't We Go There? | Explicit | 5654 words

Louis is a perfect model for Abercrombie & Fitch. Harry is a grungy, tattooed model for Hot Topic. When Louis walks in on Harry changing for his photo shoot, things only grow from there... including their dicks.

14) Act Out | Explicit | 6721 words

Harry and Louis try to spice it up a little for their 10th year marriage anniversary. Cliché role play ensues.

15) Life Imitating Art | Explicit | 6881 words

Note: This fic is the fourth part of a series. You can read the previous parts here.

Louis is taken on a very real journey through his fic back catalogue - life has never imitated art so salaciously.

16) You Can Show Me Your Heart | Explicit | 6935 words

Everyone knows about the unsinkable Titanic, which tragically did just that in April of 1912. However, not many people know the story of the Carpathia - the ship that raced to rescue and aid the survivors of the Titanic when the distress call came through. This is the story of the events leading up to the luxury liner crashing into an iceberg on that fateful spring night. More than that, this is the story of how two of Carpathia’s passengers - Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson - met, fell in love and helped over 700 people in the cold Atlantic water.

17) Kisses and Coffee Breaks | Explicit | 9350 words

Midterm season was finally here and all Harry wanted to do was study, however his boyfriend, Louis, seems to have a better idea.

or the one where Harry just wants to study and Louis needs Harry's cock.

18) Swallow The Knife (Outtake) | Explicit | 11186 words

Note: This is an alternative scene to fic #25 on this fic rec.

Alternate sex scene from Swallow The Knife.

19) We've Been Here Before | Mature | 11536 words

Harry goes to Louis in the wake of his sister Felicite's death, and Louis asks Harry to help him clean up a family cabin he is ready to get rid of. Along the way, they attempt to heal many things, even those that they thought were long past.

20) With Words Unspoken | Explicit | 18341 words

The one where Louis is lost, Harry is an excellent tour guide, and age is no barrier to finding the love of your life.

21) The Aurora Zone | Explicit | 19633 words

The one where Harry is busy crossing off his bucket list while Louis is busy falling for the guy he's supposed to hate.

22) Be Mine, Dear | Not Rated | 20104 words

The one where Louis just wants to meet his mate, and all it takes is for him to get a new neighbor.

23) Deflower Me | Explicit | 20154 words

Everyone is 19 and horny, and Louis just really wants to get fucked by Harry.

24) You Are Half Of Me (And I Am All For You) | Explicit | 24731 words

Note: This fic has a mention of BH.

One Direction, an obscure indie rock band, is about to embark on their first cross-country tour, living out of Louis' beloved van named Patricia.

Harry is in love, and Louis is oblivious. Or is he?

Featuring skinny-dipping in Texas waterfalls, getting lost in the desert, stargazing under the New Mexico sky, performing in front of crowds that grow in size each night, and falling in love on the road during the greatest summer of their lives.

25) You Are In My Bed, But Your Heart Isn't | Not Rated | 25595 words

Rock Band AU. Louis is an omega who fucks around, doesn't know the meaning of "feelings" until he starts crawling into Harry's bed at night. Harry gets jealous easily and they all write a lot of songs about each other.

26) Play Me A Memory | Explicit | 26932 words

Louis lives with his nine-year-old son Jake in a peaceful beachside community on the east coast of Australia, working as an entertainment coordinator at the local five-star resort. Harry is a recluse who lives on millionaires row and writes musical scores for blockbuster movies. When the roots of a wayward willow tree create havoc at his home, Harry is forced to stay at the resort while repairs are carried out.

27) Book Worm | Explicit | 37018 words

Note: This fic has mentions of BH.

“Dad said this is his very favourite place to go,” Leon divulged, much to Louis' embarrassment.

“Did he?” Harry's olive eyes flicked to Louis, lips quirking in a way that didn’t match his beige cardigan.

“Yeah and he said you have the best books. May I look?” He asked, smiling winningly.

Leon had inherited Louis' blue eyes and his mother's dark hair, his smile quickly becoming a replica of his father's.

“You may,” Harry permitted and Louis set Leon down.

“Don’t destroy anything,” he instructed. “And if you so much as crease a page then bring it to the till because I’m going to have to pay for it...”

Leon raced straight to the back of the shop and threw himself onto the beanbag seat front first.

“I put the Kama Sutra back on the top shelf, by the way,” Harry told him with a dimpled smile. “You left it by the Hungry Caterpillar.”

28) Waiting for the Tides to Meet | Explicit | 59637 words

Soulmate AU. Everyone is born with heterochromia — one eye is their own eye colour, while the other is the colour of their soulmate's. It's only when they meet their soulmate for the first time that their own eyes match properly. After a hazy night at a frat party, Louis wakes up to blue eyes and the shocking realization that he had met his soulmate, without any sober recollection. Seven years pass where Louis comes to terms with the fact that he'll never know who his soulmate is. Then one fated summer, a beautiful green-eyed photographer arrives at Louis' workplace, with promises of endless laughter and a familiar feeling in Louis' heart.

29) Swallow The Knife | Explicit | 76168 words

“You came,” Louis says, still breathless, clinging to Harry, uncaring that his sweat is getting all over Harry’s presumably clean dad shirt, or that he’s making Harry hold up all of his weight.

“Of course I came,” Harry says. He shifts, one arm curled underneath Louis’ arse, the other spreading wide in the middle of Louis’ back. “If I ignored you every time you pissed me off we would have stopped being friends a long time ago.”

Louis already knows that, of course. It doesn’t do anything to stop the pleased squirm in his belly every time Harry proves it, though. They fight like nobody’s business, both of them too stubborn to pull their punches when they’re arguing, and it used to get them in trouble, but they always make up.

Adrenaline makes Louis loose-lipped, and they both know it. He tightens his arms around Harry’s neck, buries his face in his hair. “I missed you,” he confesses, quiet. “Doesn’t feel the same up there by myself.”

30) There You Are | Explicit | 82237 words

Note: This fic has a mention of BH.

Harry’s entire life has fallen apart - in one night, his carefully planned future is suddenly uncertain.

Then he meets Louis.

Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.

You can find other monthly roundup fic rec lists here.

#bottom louis #top harry #blp fic recs #monthly fic recs #fic recs #blp #larry

254 notes · View notes

theliberaltony · 4 years

Link

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

Welcome to Pollapalooza, our weekly polling roundup.

Poll(s) of the week

This week, we have some of the first polls on how Americans feel about the death of George Floyd, a black man who was killed by a police officer in Minneapolis, and the protests that have cropped up across the U.S. in response.

On the one hand, an overwhelming majority of Americans say Floyd’s death was wrong and the police officers involved should be held accountable. There is also some support for the frustration and anger that sparked the protests, and a majority of Americans now agree that there are vast racial inequities in policing. But public opinion on the protests themselves is more muddled and suggests that Americans have mixed views of the protesters and their right to demonstrate, much of which falls along familiar partisan lines.

First, the public pretty clearly thinks the police were in the wrong. A Yahoo News/YouGov survey, for instance, found that 84 percent of Americans strongly or somewhat approved of the firing of the officers involved in Floyd’s death, and 68 percent said they approved of charging former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd’s neck for nearly 9 minutes, with murder. Similarly, 65 percent of respondents in a Data for Progress poll said that Chauvin murdered Floyd; 25 percent of respondents said his death was partly a product of excessive force “but not murder,” and just 10 percent said it was a “tragic accident.”

Additionally, most Americans said that policing is biased against African Americans. In a new survey from Monmouth University, 57 percent said police were more likely to use excessive force in difficult situations if the suspect is black, while just 33 percent said police were equally likely to use excessive force against white people and black people. Similarly, 57 percent of respondents in a new CBS News/YouGov survey said police in most communities treat white people better than black people. Thirty-nine percent said police treat both races equally. On top of this, 61 percent of Americans said race was a “major factor” in Floyd’s death, according to the Yahoo News/YouGov survey. There was a big partisan gap in how respondents answered this question though: 87 percent of Democrats said race was a major factor compared with just 39 percent of Republicans.

More broadly, the public appears receptive to why people are protesting. Fifty-seven percent of respondents in the Monmouth poll felt that, regardless of their actions, protesters’ anger was “fully justified,” while 21 percent said it was “partially justified” and 18 percent said it was “not at all justified.” And 64 percent told Reuters/Ipsos that they were sympathetic to those participating in the protests, while a Morning Consult poll found that 54 percent of adults supported “the protest in general” while 22 percent opposed it.

However, Americans had mixed views on what has happened during the protests, and many have expressed disapproval of protests that have been violent or destructive. Forty-five percent of respondents told Morning Consult that, on the whole, most of the protesters are peaceful and desire meaningful social reform, while 42 percent said most protesters are trying to incite violence or destroy property. In Monmouth’s poll, only 17 percent felt the actions of the protesters were fully justified, 37 percent said they were partially justified and 38 percent said they weren’t justified at all. And the Reuters/Ipsos survey found that most Americans (72 percent) didn’t think violent protests were an appropriate response to Floyd’s killing, and that property damage caused by protesters undermined their goals (79 percent). Morning Consult’s survey also found that Americans were less supportive of the protests when they were specifically asked about black people protesting.

Americans across the political spectrum said they approved of some of the more forceful responses from local and state authorities. In Morning Consult’s poll, 70 percent said they supported curfews and 66 percent backed calling in the national guard to aid city police, with large majorities of both Democrats and Republicans approving these measures. Fifty-five percent of respondents even supported calling in the U.S. military, although there was a substantial partisan split on this question, with 74 percent of Republicans approving compared with 48 percent of Democrats.

As for President Trump’s handling of the protests, Americans largely gave him a thumbs down. The CBS News/YouGov poll found that 32 percent approved of Trump’s response while 49 percent disapproved, and Reuters/Ipsos found that 33 percent approved while 56 percent disapproved. Although Trump usually has overwhelming backing from Republicans on most job approval questions, there were some signs that at least a few GOP voters were breaking with him on this issue. The CBS News/YouGov survey found that 65 percent approved of how he’s handling the situation — far lower than the 84 percent who approve of how he’s handling the coronavirus pandemic, for example — while 14 percent disapproved. Similarly, in the Reuters/Ipsos poll, 20 percent disapproved while 67 percent approved.

There could be electoral repercussions to the protests and the president’s response to them. Monmouth’s survey found that 74 percent of Americans felt the country was on the wrong track, the largest share since Monmouth first asked the question nationally in 2013. And as a result of Floyd’s death and the protests, 45 percent of registered voters told Morning Consult they were more likely to now vote for former Vice President Joe Biden. However, another 31 percent said they’d be more likely to vote for Trump. And at this point, it’s hard to imagine that George Floyd’s death won’t be an important factor in the election.

Other polling bites

This month marks the fifth anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that made same-sex marriage legal across the country, and Gallup’s latest data finds that 67 percent of Americans believe gay marriage should be legal, tying record-high support in 2018. Overall, this reflects a remarkable shift in public opinion. In 1996, 68 percent of Americans opposed same-sex marriage, while just 27 percent supported it.

A new report from the Pew Research Center says that religion is increasingly becoming a dividing line between Democrats and Republicans. Only 52 percent of Democrats identified as Christian in 2019, down from 73 percent in 2008, while 79 percent of Republicans identified as Christian last year, down 8 percentage points from 87 percent more than a decade ago.

As many states and municipalities start to reopen after closing up shop to slow the spread of the coronavirus, a new ABC News/Washington Post survey reveals that many Americans are still hesitant to resume their pre-pandemic activities. Fifty-eight percent said it was still “too early” to visit stores, restaurants and other public places, and 57 percent said it was more important to control the spread of the coronavirus than to restart the economy, compared with 37 percent who said that restarting the economy was more important.

However, Gallup finds that Americans aren’t quite as worried about being exposed to the coronavirus when they visit medical providers now compared with how they felt in late March and early April. Back then, 84 percent said they were “very” or “moderately” concerned about exposure at a doctor’s office or hospital, whereas now just 64 percent said they were concerned.

In the wake of Trump’s executive order targeting social media fact-checking policies, fewer Americans said they wanted Trump banned from a social media platform if he spread offensive content compared with last year, according to a new poll from Morning Consult. Just 24 percent said they wanted him banned, which is down from 38 percent in August 2019. (But the share who approved of a temporary suspension of his account remained relatively the same, 35 percent versus 36 percent.) The weaker support for a ban was driven primarily by Americans who voted for Trump in 2016. In 2019, 26 percent of Trump voters supported a ban compared with just 13 percent in 2020.

The U.S. Senate race in Kansas is heating up, and a new survey from Democratic pollster Civiqs suggests it could be competitive in November despite the state’s Republican lean. Presumptive Democratic nominee Barbara Bollier was in a dead heat against three Republican contenders, holding just a 1-point lead over two of them — former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach and businessman Bob Hamilton — while trailing Rep. Roger Marshall by 1 point. In the GOP primary, the poll gave Kobach an edge over Marshall (35 percent to 26 percent), with Hamilton in third at 15 percent.

A new survey from Republican pollster Cygnal suggests that there may not be a runoff for the Democratic nomination in Georgia’s regularly scheduled U.S. Senate election. The poll found journalist and former congressional candidate Jon Ossoff at nearly 49 percent in the June 9 primary race, just shy of the majority he needs to avoid an Aug. 11 runoff. Meanwhile, former Columbus Mayor Teresa Tomlinson had about 16 percent, and 2018 Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor Sarah Riggs Amico had around 8 percent.

Trump approval

According to FiveThirtyEight’s presidential approval tracker, 41.9 percent of Americans approve of the job Trump is doing as president, while 53.1 percent disapprove (a net approval rating of -11.2 points). At this time last week, 42.6 percent approved and 53.6 percent disapproved (a net approval rating of -11.0 points). One month ago, Trump had an approval rating of 43.3 percent and a disapproval rating of 51.1 percent, for a net approval rating of -7.8 points.

Generic ballot

In our average of polls of the generic congressional ballot, Democrats currently lead by 7.8 percentage points (48.7 percent to 40.9 percent). A week ago, Democrats led Republicans by 7.7 points (48.2 percent to 40.5 percent). At this time last month, voters preferred Democrats by 7.7 points (48.0 percent to 40.3 percent).

#IFTTT #Politics – FiveThirtyEight #politics #538 #Geoffrey Skelley

3 notes · View notes

09yards · 5 years

Text

[5:43 am to the rest of our lives]

Part One of the Adventures Of Parenting (and failing miserably) series

Chapter 1/3: Error: Jaehyun’s brain cells not found

Summary:

Jaehyun and Doyoung are celebrating their wedding anniversary, only they aren’t as far as Doyoung is aware, Jaehyun does the school run and as usual, it doesn’t end well. They have the perfect life, they’re married and happy – despite four children. Jaehyun just has a couple issues here and there (mainly with the school run).

**[5:43 am] I get to love you, it’s the best thing I’ll ever do. Oh, I can’t believe it’s true sometimes. **

If you had told Jaehyun, twenty-two years ago, that he’d be married with four children, he would have laughed in your face (read: full-blown cackled and snorted, extremely un-attractively), especially if you’d told him he’d landed his dream job as a doctor (yes, his parents were very proud and his sister, very jealous) and was actually happy with his life. Let alone if you’d told him he’d be celebrating his eighteenth wedding anniversary with lifelong best friend, Doyoung, and rather than sleeping in and adoring his husband, he was reminiscing while trying to feed the three-year-old currently attached to his hip Nutella and toast before aforementioned husband found out (Nutella or anything ‘too sweet’ wasn’t allowed and Jaehyun would no longer have a head if Doyoung found out, again, especially on a weekday) with the remains of pink glitter and yellow paint on his arms. Doyoung and Jaehyun’s love story was a simple one, they grew up together (childhood best friends and all that) and after waking up next to each other, very, very naked, after deciding to drink copious amounts of alcohol at a welcome week party during their first year (or rather first three days) at university, they decided to see where things went and things never ended. Your classic ‘idiots to lovers’ trope.

Just over an hour and a half later, Jaehyun finds himself at the point of his second failure of the morning. He had two wins, the first, managing to get all four children to eat breakfast without causing a fuss and second, finding Soyeon’s tiny (yes, Jaehyun made a point, every time, about how small they were) football boots placed neatly on the shoe rack, for once. But currently the shouts of “Dad! Have you seen my lyrics and my dance shoes? Never mind, got my dance shoes. Daaad have you seen my lyrics?” and the “Dad where are my boots, they were here the other day?” were not so much a win but rather causing his lovely conscience – otherwise known as the mini Doyoung in his head when the real one wasn’t there (or currently still, somehow, sleeping through the commotion) to nag you – to continuously chant ‘you’re going to be late, you’re going to be late’ in his head. Not fun and not ideal. Jaehyun hadn’t managed to master this morning already but one thing he could count on was Soyeon, smiling away at her father while she happily brushed her teeth, already dressed and backpack all ready to go by the front door. One thing Jaehyun had managed to master on the other hand, is the art of creeping up and down the stairs as well as across their hallway and all of the bedrooms without making the floors creek, enabling him to be able to gently wake up (or in most cases, make sure they stay asleep) the members of their busy household.

“Morning Doyoungie, happy anniversary,” Jaehyun knew better than to wake him up on his day off but desperate time called for desperate measures and a cute but quiet voice (Jisung was still clinging to him, fast asleep) and cuteness was the only way he would get out of this alive, “Doyoungie hyung,” Jaehyun was greeted by a soft grunt in response this time from the mound of duvet (Jaehyun wasn’t entirely sure if Doyoung could breathe under all that, he had clearly taken advantage of Jaehyun vacating the bed), “baby, I know, I’m sorry for waking you; Soyeon’s an angel as usual and is ready to go and I’ve got Jisung but Hyuck’s complaining about not being able to find the lyrics he was using yesterday and Jaemin can’t find his boots for hockey tonight? I know, I’m sorry, I didn’t want to wake you but I suck and never know these things.”

After a yawn and a grumble, the pile of duvet finally spoke, “Hyuck’s lyrics are on the piano, where he left them and Jaemin’s boots are by the backdoor because they stink, tell him to wash them or Renjun can’t come over on Friday, try and sound like you mean it – for once. As much as it pains me to say this, but don’t forget to put a shirt on. You’re making dinner tonight, you’re the better cook anyway. Now shoo, I’m going back to sleep. Don’t drop Jisung off at school late again, please, Jungwoo always says he sees you rushing across the courtyard whenever you do the school run.”

Jaehyun had learnt over the years, before they’d began dating, that arguing with the older, ninety-nine percent of the time, resulted in Jaehyun losing – quite often by a longshot. In fairness, he had always insisted on his mother teaching him all of her staple recipes as he refused to be a father and a husband that didn’t know how to cook or never did menial tasks like the laundry, cleaning and tidying or putting the bins out. He did his fair share – like how his own parents had taught him to do. His mother still nagged him every single time she phoned to make sure he did something nice for Doyoung, rather aggressively telling Jaehyun to ‘make sure you appreciate that husband of yours, not everyone would put up with your disastrous working hours and still agree to have a family with you’. She was right, of course. He had always prided himself on being a ‘good’ husband, spontaneous flowers here and there (never roses, Doyoung hated them, argued they were too cliché and weren’t as endearing as something like almonds – yes, Jaehyun had to google it too), he did the majority of the prep for cooking and Doyoung would do the actual cooking, Jaehyun gave kisses ‘just because’, never let activities be all about him (frankly, he loved making it all about Doyoung, pleasing the elder was one of his favourite pastimes), Jaehyun was a good father too. Doyoung always praised him, mainly his ability to get any of their children to fall asleep shockingly fast against his bare torso when they were young, a sight that Doyoung was more than happy to witness. Maybe, Jaehyun was late once or twice, he wasn’t fit for the school run like Doyoung. He never was able to comprehend how Doyoung, leaving at the same time in the morning (if not later) was always able to get the kids to school on time and then make it into work early. Jaehyun had already called Johnny and Sehun and said he’d be late – after the toast issue this morning, he was no longer up for being optimistic – okay, maybe he had a little hope left. Donghyuck would be late because he couldn’t decide what shoes went best with his outfit today (boy does Jaehyun miss when they had to wear a uniform) and Jaemin spent far too long styling his hair, as it had to be ‘perfect’. Jaehyun couldn’t exactly be mad over the latter as that was a trait most definitely inherited by Jaemin, from himself. They hadn’t been told who was the biological father of any of their children but to the both of them it was obvious, Donghyuck took after Doyoung – with his musical talent but also book smarts and strong wit (read: his desire to always be right and make sure you are fully aware that he is correct and therefore you are wrong) – and Jaemin took after Jaehyun – with his preference for sport over academics (not that he was stupid by any means, frankly he was more intelligent than Donghyuck and had confessed to his father a few weeks ago about his hopes to study medicine but hadn’t known how to do so) and his swoon-worthy smile.

Soyeon is the perfect mix of the both of them, Jaehyun’s dimples but Doyoung’s bunny smile, always organised like Doyoung but still a little firecracker and a ball of energy and fluff – like Jaehyun. But they weren’t sure where her personality came from (not entirely at least), yes Doyoung and Jaehyun were nice, well-mannered citizens but they weren’t gods-gift or anything, Soyeon is an utter angel; they don’t know how they got so lucky with her after the chaos of Donghyuck and Jaemin. Jaehyun didn’t think that maybe it was a girl thing, but it was definitely beginning to feel like a girl thing.

Jisung they hadn’t quite decided on yet, although they were pretty sure he was a genius – at least in their eyes. He started walking and talking much quicker than most, definitely earlier than their three older children, he preferred to complete puzzles (now recommended for ages 9-13), mainly with a little help from Soyeon as she liked to feel as though she was spending time with her younger brother even if they were all very much aware he was capable of doing it by himself, and build complicated structures with Legos without turning the space around him into a Lego minefield (thank the lord for that one, stepping on a Lego is a pain Jaehyun wished upon no-one and had happened to him about three-hundred times too many between their three other children, mainly in the wake of Jaemin’s play time until he discovered technology) rather than wreak havoc around the house with toy cars and dolls. Not that he wasn’t fascinated by watching the cars go around and round again on the Scalextric, Doyoung had told Jaehyun far too many times about how he’d spent three hours just sending the cars round in order to amuse the toddler. Jaehyun thought his personality at least was a nice blend of the two of them, whereas Doyoung placed his bets on Jisung inheriting the swoon-worthy smile, adorable cheeks and complete-utter inability to talk to someone they like (just like Jaehyun and Jaemin). The reality was, Doyoung was hoping all his children would inherit Jaehyun’s beautiful smile, biologically possible or not, it is the smile he grew up with, the one he fell in love with, the one he married, the one he wakes up next to every morning and the one he goes to sleep after seeing. Not that he’d ever tell Jaehyun, but his smile was quite possibly one of Doyoung’s favourite things in the world.

Jisung on the other hand is just cute, there is no other way to describe it. He stared at you with puppy eyes when he wanted something, the king of the pout and slightly furrowed brows combo when he was upset or confused and Jaehyun was a physically strong man, Doyoung could attest to that, as could his hours he tried to spend in the gym, but when it came to his children Jaehyun was, unsurprisingly, a huge softie. Doyoung saw it coming, Jaehyun was too stubborn and had convinced himself (and only himself) before Donghyuck was born that he would be a classic ‘fun dad’ and also a ‘firm but fair’ parent. Donghyuck at seventeen and Jaemin at sixteen, were still able to exploit their father through the use of puppy eyes and a little pout. Doyoung’s new nickname for him is ‘pushover’, much to Jaehyun’s dismay, Doyoung continues to argue that he fits it perfectly – and usually teases the younger about it to no end until Jaehyun demonstrates to Doyoung (and for Doyoung’s eyes only) just how much he isn’t a pushover in certain situations. Doyoung wasn’t the only one who Jaehyun couldn’t understand how the school run ran so smoothly for. Their best friend, Ten, had married an older man a few years after their own wedding and Ten had quickly settled into his role as a self-proclaimed trophy-husband, Kun was wealthy and was more than happy to please Ten through any means necessary, particularly Ten’s favourite - materialistic means; a new bag here, a new car there, jewellery that sparkled far too much to be remotely in anyone other than Kun’s price range for Ten’s birthday (read another birthday present even when his birthday had well and truly passed). This is not to say they weren’t in love by any means, if people thought Doyoung and him were disgustingly in love, they had never seen Kun and Ten. They never seem to be out of the honeymoon phase, despite having adopted their fifthchild. Jaehyun and Doyoung firmly drew the line at four, with the substantial age difference between Jisung and his brothers and a few years after his sister, being settled as Doyoung wanting a baby before he got too old (and coincidentally just after Kun and Ten had just adopted Chenle, a sweet new-born with a charming, chubby cheeked, gummy smile) and Jaehyun was once again, too much of a softie to even think about refusing. Not that he minded, he loved having Jisung, he would happily have had a whole hoard of children, had they spread it across the years they’d been together, unlike Kun and Ten who had four children born within two years of each other, adopting all of them before they’d turned three. Hendery was the eldest when they’d adopted him but Lucas was in fact their eldest. How they handled them, especially five boys, Jaehyun couldn’t begin to fathom it, let alone how Ten managed to get all of them to school on time – a task he was greatly failing at, even if it hadn’t gone completely down the drain just yet, he knew it would be soon. So there Jaehyun stood, the clock in their kitchen reading a quarter to eight, a freshly washed, dressed and sun screened Jisung with his miniature rucksack (triple checked for lunch, a water bottle taken from the freezer earlier this morning to ensure it was extra cold and hat to protect him from the sun, read: if Jisung got in the slightest bit pink, Jaehyun would be a dead man) tugging on his hand, Soyeon waiting patiently, backpack in hand and shoe laces now tied in double knots herself (something she was very proud of and excited to show Jaehyun that she had done it), Jaemin finally having finished his hair and was just grabbing his boots – grimacing when he shoved them into his rucksack at the, frankly, disgusting smell - and Hyuck running down the stairs, tugging on his shoes as he went. If they left now, Jaehyun might actually be able to pride himself, for once, on being on time. Wishful thinking never got Jaehyun far. Apparently, he was yet to actually learn that. It was going so, so well until Jaemin and Donghyuck stared bickering in the car over who’s shoes Hyuck was wearing – Jaehyun managed to usher them out, if he sped slightly, he would still make it! Soyeon was easy, patiently waiting for Jaehyun to open the door to the car and then with a quick kiss to his cheek, a giggle and a ‘good luck!’ she hopped out the car, skipping to join her friends. But trying to get Jisung out of the car caused a lost trainer, resulting in Jaehyun climbing under the car and them being very, very late. Arguably it was not his fault and he definitely felt like an idiot running across the playground with Jisung’s backpack gripped between his teeth. Bordel de merde. And so, the dreaded text came through just as he was getting back into the car.

From Doie [9:14 am]

Care to explain why I just got a snapchat from Taeyong of you running across the playground with Jisung, his rucksack in your mouth and trying to put his shoe on?????

I hope you’re aware that Jisung starts pre-school, promptly at 8:45 and not 9:00

God it’s so embarrassing, at least it’s gone 9 so all the mums have cleared out, I do not need this bringing up at the PTA meeting next month Jaehyun

To Doie [9:15 am]

Funny story!

Have to get to work, have a good day :)

Happy anniversary baby!

Fuck you.

I love you too baby (:

Middle finger emoji

Well fuck, happy anniversary! You’re screwed Jaehyun, so, so screwed.

To Ten [9:26 am]

If I were to say I screwed up this morning, how do I make it better

I’m desperate

Take pity on me hyung

From Ten [9:28]

You’re such an idiot Jae istg

We can take the kids for the night??

We’ve only got the twins and Chenle

Lucas and Hendery are at Johnny’s tonight assuming Hyuck is too?

Are you serious?

And yes, please if you are!

And no, Hyuck is here tonight – somethings going on with him atm

Don’t know what though so don’t press!!

Of course! Doing it for Doie and not for you though!

You will owe me one of course

Renjun and Yangyang are best friends with Hyuck anyway, they’ll be over the moon

Jungwoo says Chenle and Jisung have been getting on well too

(the preschool ta you’ve probably never met, we like him – have possible gossip on him too)

And its Soyeon so, I will avoid that little angel at all costs so I don’t taint her with my evilness

And Kun is already picking out what flavour cookies the two of them are going to make

Okay, harsh. We had shoe issues

We can’t all be you with your ridiculous time management skills

And just because I’ve never met him doesn’t mean it’s because I’m always late

I have a very important job!!

Drop them off this evening, don’t take Doyoung out – he’s too tired

Make that hot pot he likes

Then get busy! Kids free zone for one night only, take advantage

And if I don’t see any suspicious marks on either of you tomorrow morning

I will be disappointed :((

I’m not entirely sure how to respond to that

Nor do I want to

Kun is great, I like Kun, I don’t like you

Thank you and thanks to Kun too :)

I’ll drop them off at 5, gotta blast Johnny is about to kill me

Okay more like 5:30

There are musical rehearsals, hockey practice, football practice and swimming lessons today, kill me now

“Jaehyun, when you said you’d be late I thought that meant fifteen-twenty minutes not an hour!”

“It’s not exactly my fault,” Johnny raised an eyebrow in disbelief, “I took the kids in this morning, Hyuck and Jaemin argued so we were pushed for time and then Jisung lost his shoe getting out the car and then he got all grumpy and then- “

“Shut up. I get it dude; I was just trying to seem like a responsible authority figure. It’s bad enough with just Mark. I think somethings wrong; he’s been extra mopey you know? Before he was always giggling away on his phone at all hours, kept doing the facetime with someone at like midnight! I chickened out of telling him off for it, he seemed happy, you know?”

“Huh, we had the same issue with Hyuck like, last week? I’ll see if Doyoung knows if they’ve got into an argument or something, he usually knows – I on the other hand, never have a clue. Jisung is the only one who talks to me.”

“Jisung is literally three years old, what can he talk to you about?”

“Hey! We had a lengthy discussion on whether or not fruit winders have a different recipe, they don’t taste the same anymore, last week we discussed the new recipe for crème eggs – he’s not convinced on that one, I think he’s too young to remember what they were like before, but I know they’ve changed.”

“Rhetorical question Jaehyun, go do some work and bother Sehun instead, he covered your patients this morning, moved the ones with angry parents who will only work with those dimples. Love ya, thank you. Oh, happy anniversary! Janice will make sure you’re out by five at the latest for whatever plans you’ve got tonight. Oh god, please tell me you have plans – you know what never mind, go do work! And, get the dinosaur off your neck.”

“What- oh.” As per usual, Jaehyun had fallen victim to another of Jisung’s stickers, the toddler was currently obsessed with the packets of rainbow and dinosaur stickers Doyoung’s mother had brought with her a few weeks back, Jaehyun was beginning to think the packet was never-ending.

To say Doyoung wasn’t a fan of his husbands working hours was the understatement of the year. Jaehyun usually left at six-thirty in the morning, kissing Doyoung good bye just as Doyoung was getting up, and would return around eleven, or just as he was drifting off to sleep. Aside from Saturdays (from twelve pm) and Sundays, Doyoung felt like he never saw his partner. Let alone the two of them having time for parent-only activities with four kids constantly keeping their house alive and Doyoung on his toes. Sometimes it began to feel like the two lived alongside one another, no longer together like they used to. Doyoung longed for the days when things weren’t separated between the two of them, in more ways than one. He hadn’t known how to bring the conversation up with the younger but he knew they needed to have a conversation about the time they spent together, they barely made time for one another anymore, let alone the fact Doyoung couldn’t tell you the last time they’d actually managed to have sex (they had tried on multiple occasions, although not for a month or so now, but kept being interrupted by various incidents). Doyoung just wanted to wake up next to his husband, the sun having risen and the both of them colourful with markings of the night before. Maybe it had become some type of sick fantasy but he needed his husband more than ever. Doyoung treasured his days off, he was a vocal coach and with the majority of the trainees being younger than eighteen, he often found himself dealing with their drama – with a seventeen-year old and a sixteen year old at home and having already lived through his fair share of teenage drama, he was more than grateful for the time he spent away from it. He knew he needed to have a conversation with Donghyuck about Mark, the two hadn’t been speaking and Doyoung was well aware of it by now, and not in the slightest bit amused – he liked Mark, he was good for Hyuck and for Hyuck’s grades (yes, Doyoung was a fan of the free maths tutoring Mark gave Donghyuck, Hyuck excelled in most subjects but maths was one that just couldn’t keep up). Doyoung was also waiting for Jaemin to decide to talk to him about his feelings, Jaehyun would call him crazy if he mentioned anything to his husband but Doyoung saw the way Jaemin looked at Renjun, a fact him and Kun very much agreed on (without the knowledge of their husbands) and Doyoung knew the face of a pining-for-your-best-friend Jung very well, having been subjected to it for several years himself. God, Doyoung was not ready for his children to grow up but he knew he had to at some point, he’d had a girlfriend at this age, him and Jaehyun were only eighteen when they got together. Doyoung doesn’t entirely remember the night they first kissed, the night they first slept together, but that was part of the beauty of it – they skipped all the awkwardness and instead woke up the morning after to Jaehyun giggling away to himself, gazing at Doyoung’s still half-lidded eyes, noses a fraction apart, Jaehyun’s breath warm against the cool air of the room, his arm resting over his waist, gently wrapping around his body and his delicate touch caressing the small of his back. As far as Doyoung was aware, they had no plans for their anniversary, honestly Doyoung had thought the younger had forgotten at first – it wouldn’t surprise him anymore. Sure, maybe Doyoung himself could’ve organised something himself but with Jaehyun’s seemingly endless work hours, Doyoung couldn’t cope with the hassle of trying to arrange something around Jaehyun’s late nights and two young children who couldn’t be left home on their own (or in the company of their elder children as Doyoung didn’t entirely trust their babysitting capabilities. The most they’d celebrated their anniversary in the last few years would be Doyoung making something ‘special’ for dinner and Jaehyun bringing him flowers on his way home from work, last year Doyoung was lucky enough to get a blow job out of it too – he wasn’t expecting the same kind of treatment this year, he was expecting much less. It wasn’t that he didn’t love his husband, god he felt like it was beginning to sound like he only had complaints about him, he loves Jaehyun, more than he ever thought possible, but the younger didn’t always play into Doyoung’s complete fantasy and that was something Doyoung felt like he was missing in his life. He knew Jaehyun was perfectly content with where they were at, hence his hesitation to share his thoughts with his partner, maybe it wasn’t necessarily the right way of dealing with things but Doyoung was learning. Jaehyun wasn’t a romantic by any means and never had been for the entire time they’d known each other, sure he was a flirt and a damn good one at that, what with the adorable dimpled smile, drool-worthy abs he still somehow possessed despite being over the age of thirty-five and the smirk, the smirk that was the sole cause for Doyoung to have dropped to his knees on multiple occasions, and Doyoung loved that. But he wanted dinner dates and movie nights where they weren’t accompanied by a three-year old cuddled against Jaehyun’s chest or a seven-year old resting her head against one of Jaehyun’s thighs. For the lack of romanticism, Jaehyun certainly made up for it with how he was with their children. Jaehyun was a loving father, he was a complete softie when it came to their kids and it made Doyoung’s heart skip a beat every time he’d see the younger playing around with any of the kids. Be it lifting and swinging Soyeon around, her heart-warming giggles filling your ears, or eagerly listening to Jisung who was babbling away about his new friends he’d made at school, or playing the piano for and singing with Donghyuck or explaining new medical technology and research to Jaemin – who was actually interested and didn’t yawn unlike Hyuck. Doyoung was completely and whole-heartedly in love with his family, he is in love with his family.

Nevertheless, you can imagine his surprise, and complete confusion, when Jaehyun arrived home with their children at a quarter to five, shouting a quick hello to Doyoung who was currently lazing around on the sofa, watching some random k-drama he found (and was frankly now very invested in), before running up the stairs with Jisung latched to his side, the other children following close behind. His confusion only excelled when they all came back downstairs twenty minutes later, overnight bags in hand.

“Bye-bye appa, have a nice night with daddy. I promise to be good for uncle Ten and uncle Kun! Kun said we-we are going to make cookies!” A grinning Soyeon kissed his cheek, muttering another (adorable) bye-bye.

“I won’t see you until tomorrow evening, I have hockey practice so I’m going straight there with Yangyang,” Jaemin was next in whatever sort of queue of good night’s they had going on, “night appa.”

“I’ll see you in the morning with Jisung and Soyeon, rehearsals are cancelled tomorrow, night appa, have a good night.”

“Jisungie, say night-night to appa for daddy!”

“Nighty-night appa! I can’t wait to see Lele!”

“Jaehyun, care to tell me why our children are saying good night to me at,” Doyoung glanced at his phone resting on the table, “ten past five and look like they’re leaving the house and sound like it too?”

“Oh, right! I forgot to tell you, Kun and Ten have the kids tonight so we have some time to spend our anniversary together, alone.”

“Jesus dad that’s gross, there are children here, how dare you say that in front of Jaemin.”

“Shut up Hyuck, I’m not a baby.”

“Okay! Hyuck, Jaemin, get in the car,” turning his attention back to Doyoung, “I’ll be back soon, I’m making dinner so you stay there and carry on looking pretty.”

“Seriously dad! Gross!”

“Let’s go Hyuck!”

“Ah, good your back. Care to tell me why you’ve whisked my children away without telling me now?” Okay, maybe the bite to Doyoung’s voice was a little unnecessary but he was annoyed, those are his babies (no matter what Hyuck and Jaemin say) and he didn’t appreciate only being told they weren’t staying with them as they were leaving the house.

“I was speaking to Ten this morning and he suggested having the kids tonight, they were down to three so no there isn’t nine children currently wreaking havoc over there, so we could have time together and alone.” There it was, the signature Jung Jaehyun smirk, the one Doyoung was all too familiar with when he wanted a particular something, not that Doyoung hadn’t picked up on what he was alluding to in the first place.

“Oh, kinda sounds too good to be true at this point, god, when was the last time we had the house to ourselves for just an hour?”

“Too long Doie, far, far too long,” Jaehyun was muttering under his breath at this point, now having approached his husband and gave him what intended to be a soft kiss, but hey! Doyoung was needy and he didn’t mean to deepen it so much, nor did he mean to let out a little mewl when Jaehyun ran his hands through his hair. “Okay, more of that later, we have all night, food first baby.”

And so, a meal, plenty of wine, a calm evening and a couple of hours later, Jaehyun now finds himself on top of his husband, laying on their shared bed, lips currently attached to the elders neck (forming some lovely, dark, marks that Doyoung will definitely yell at him for in the morning although he’d decorated the youngers neck, shoulders and chest with the pretty marks) while he moans breathlessly for more. They’re happy, finally a night alone together where they can just be one with each other. Lips on lips, breath mixing, no hushed moans, “add another Jaehyun”, “right there Jaehyun”, “God you feel so good Jaehyun”, it was pure bliss. Jaehyun was all about pleasing his husband tonight, making him feel good, making him feel loved, showing his appreciation. Jaehyun was particularly skilled in the sex department, Doyoung would never attempt to deny that. As cliché as it was, his husband was damn good with his tongue and mouth in general and he knew exactly what to do with his (arguably) great dick. Therefore, you can imagine Jaehyun’s surprise, utter confusion and complete devastation upon the realisation that in the time between Jaehyun having made Doyoung orgasm for the first time that night (and with zero intention of that being the only time) and returning with a condom in hand (less messy), his dearesthusband had fallen asleep. Yes, was giving it big Z’s and all, blissfully unaware of the massive blue balls he’d just left the younger with and the massive pout currently on his face. How, how had the older fallen asleep? The hit to his ego was not good. So, continuing to pout, he cleans them up, tucking his husband under the covers (he was not dealing with the ‘I’m cold and you just left me’ whining in the morning), dealing with himself in a delightful cold shower and begrudgingly going to bed himself. What he definitely hadn’t accounted for would be Doyoung not having and recollection of this come the morning, curling up to the younger, kissing his neck, thanking him for last night, by word saying he was glad they’d finally had sex after so long – he explicitly said sex! Jaehyun couldn’t quite believe it and call him petty (he most definitely is, even if he tries to deny it) but he wasn’t okay with it and far, far, too embarrassed to tell Doyoung that he hadn’t gotten anything out of it. Quickly planting a light kiss to the elder’s forehead before getting out of bed and grumbling about having to go and pick up the kids. “Oh yay! I’m so happy you finally got some, now both of you can stop complaining to me about the lack of sex you’ve had in the past few months.” Clearly Ten was blindsided by the hickeys peaking out from the collar of Jaehyun’s t-shirt and was yet to notice the foul look on his face.

“I wish, you’ll get that from Doyoung at least because he seems to think we slept together last night.”

“What do you mean? How can he think you slept together?”

“It was great, plenty of making out, made him orgasm, went to go get a condom, I come back and he’s fast asleep,” god, Jaehyun was embarrassed, “Ten stop laughing, fucking hell.”

“I-I’m sorry but you’d built this up so much and you’d both been complaining so much and he fell asleep? At least he got an orgasm out of it, can’t say the same for you though, clearly you’re still tense.”

“I hate him. At least I wasn’t inside him but Jesus Christ I’m mortified. He doesn’t know, he thanked me this morning, said how happy he was our draught was finally over. Fuck Ten, what do I do?”

“Honestly, I’m not much help because once we had Lucas and Hendery we laid down ground rules on what we’d do if that ever happened to us and it’s never happened, yet anyway.”

“I can’t tell him what happened, like ‘hey, how are you baby, yes you did leave me with bloody massive blue balls last night – don’t worry though, I really enjoyed my cold shower’.”

“For god’s sake dad, there are children here.”

“Jesus Hyuck, I didn’t think you’d be awake.”

“I am awake, clearly, and scarred for life. Tell appa he’s disgusting for leaving those marks all over you.”

“He can’t do that Hyuck, ‘fraid your appa and dad aren’t speaking.”

“What?! Why?”

“Adult things Hyuck, Ten please stop.”

“For god’s sake dad, that’s disgusting.”

Oh, how did Jaehyun end up here.

#dojae #markhyuck #tenkun #kunten #jaedo #ten nct #NCT #nct 127 #wayv #nct ot21 #nct otp #nct family #nct fluff #nct parentverse #nct fanfic #nct fic

65 notes · View notes

sortasirius · 5 years

Text

Lakeside

Pairing: Steve/Tony and Steve/Peggy

AN: Hey guys, it’s four weeks out from Endgame and I’m still so emo over Steve and Tony so have some more angst and sort of fluff lol.

Words: 1229

As always, it’s up on my AO3 here!

Steve visited the lake whenever he could. Peggy didn’t say anything when he got in the car for the first time and drove down the winding, delicately curved roads to a small clearing, a perfect place for a house. Steve approached the lake gingerly, like he’s afraid something is going to come out of the water and grab him. She watched from a distance as he sunk down into the grass, watching the water, occasionally disturbed by birds and deer coming to get a drink of the cool water. Steve didn’t even notice them, or her walking around the place, looking up at the towering pine trees. He was lost in his memories. She could see his hunched shoulders shaking, but knew better than to go to him. She knew that this grief, whoever he had lost in the future, that he wanted to be alone with that person.

Eventually, Steve approached her, tear streaked and smiling, and took her hand.

“We can go,” he said, looking up at the trees.

“Do you want to go, Steve?”

He looked at her, his wide, kind eyes always more concerned for her than for himself. It was something that she had always loved about him.

“If we could just...occasionally come by?”

“Steve, it’s a beautiful place. And it can be ours.”

His smile radiated through her like the warm sun. His kindness and strength matched hers, and she was glad to be able to do something that gave him some peace.

After several years of visiting the lake, however, Peggy began to ask. She would ask about who would own the lakeside property, about what they meant to him. And it took Steve years, literal years to open up about it. Not because he didn’t trust Peggy, he trusted her more than anyone, but because of what it would cost him to talk about it.

On their third year of marriage, Steve’s fifth year of living in the past, he told her. They sat together, shaded from the summer sun by the trees, and he told her about the future. He told her about Thanos, about the war, about space, and about Tony. He told her most about Tony. Every detail he could remember. And she was the best listener, the very best. She drank it all up, asking questions, pressing him when he didn’t want to go on.

He had thought, at first, that he couldn’t mention name or details, afraid of altering the timeline. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that the timeline was altered, he had altered it, and that he could make the future his own, so he finally told Peggy about him. She laughed at the things he had said, the stories that Steve would tell about him. He told her about Tony saving the universe. When Steve told her about the awful things he had said, she was quietly there for him, even when he was ready to give up on himself.

“I told him, I told him that he wasn’t the guy to make the sacrifice play. That he wouldn’t lay down on the wire and let others crawl over him. And he did. He did it more than me, for all that. New York, Sokovia, the whole Universe!”

“You feel guilty.”

“Yes,” Steve felt the tears sting his eyes, as they always did when he was at the lake. He wiped his eyes on his sleeve.

“I’m sorry, Peg. This isn’t fair to you, honey. I’m living in the past, well, future past, and that’s not-”

“Steve, you’re allowed to have traditions to honor the people you’ve lost. I visit my mother’s grave ever year on her birthday, you know that.”

“But-”

“It doesn’t matter what the relationship was, it matters that he was important to you. And I’m glad that you told me, that you include me.”

Steve dropped his head to her shoulder.

“I love you.”

“And I love you. But you’re still allowed to love him too.”

Steve took a long, shaky breath.

“Okay, but, if it’s alright, can we do it together?”

“Always.”

It became a family tradition. A tradition to, on the anniversary of Tony’s funeral, load up in the car and come to the clearing. They didn’t need to explain it to the kids, they felt like the forest was a magical place. The kids eventually called it their secret place, because no one was ever out there with them. Steve always felt guilty when they would try to play with him, try to get him to pick them up, go swimming with them. Peggy understood, and she would gently pull them away, leaving Steve on is own, alone with the thoughts of a glowing arc-reactor, oversized sunglasses, and a beautiful smile.

There were years where Steve and Peggy would come on their own, especially as the kids got older. They would bring a chairs, food, Peggy would bring a book, and Steve would watch the water.

Steve always tried to live in the present, he tired not to think about cell phones, the internet, who was going to win the world series in twenty years. He tried to be the best husband and father that he could. But when he visited Tony’s lake, he let himself remember. He let himself remember their mistakes, his mistakes. He let himself remember how he felt about Tony, and the things he wished he had said.

Tony had told him to live a life. And that life was beautiful. He had his children, he had a beautiful house, and he had Peggy. And about 99% of the time? That was enough. His new life was enough. That one percent of the time? When he was filled with inadequacy and doubt? He would come to the lake, sit for a while, and he would hear, almost like he was right next to him,

“Mr. Rogers. I see that ass is just as nice as the day I died.”

It was those moments, when he could hear Tony as if he was right next to him, that he would pull out the only thing of his that he had never shown anyone. Not Peggy, not his children, not his friends. He pulled out the picture of him and Tony, taken by Bruce after some party. The picture that Pepper had pressed into his hands when he left Tony’s house for the last time, smiling her beautiful smile, understanding something that he hadn’t understood himself for years.

Tony had his arm slung around Steve’s shoulder, confident and easy. Tony was dressed to the nines and Steve was in one of his button-up shirts. They were laughing, probably at a joke that Bruce had told, and Steve had analyzed everything about the picture, about Tony’s fingers curling into his arm, his own arm around Tony’s waist. Everything.

There were days where it was hard to leave the lake. It was like losing Tony all over again, even though he had been dead to Steve for years. Sometimes he would stay until the sun had set, looking at the glassy lake for hours. But he would always, always be able to drag himself up, look back at the lake, and smile. Only then could he go home, come through the door, squeeze Peggy’s hand, and take another step forward.

#stony #stevetony #fanfiction #writing #endgame spoilers #endgame #avengers endgame #steve rogers #tony stark #peggy carter #steve #tony #peggy #i love the ANGST you guys what can i say #stevepeggy

29 notes · View notes

trylonandperisphere · 5 years

Text

"The biggest threat to this weekend’s humongous celebration of World Pride in New York City, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, isn’t from anti-LGBTQ activists or religious forces. It’s actually from members of the LGBTQ community who are so angry about corporate participation in this Sunday’s Pride March, they’ve organized a counter-march in protest.

The Queer Liberation March, organized by the Reclaim Pride Coalition, will be devoid of corporate floats. On Sunday morning, they’ll step off from the traditional site of Sheridan Square in Greenwich Village and head to Central Park. There’s no word on how many will take part, in contrast to the millions anticipated to view the 400+ groups and 100 or more floats in the official NYC Pride March. That march is set to start at noon on Fifth Avenue at Madison Square Park, a far different route winding downtown, into the Village and back to Chelsea.

Among the floats and groups in the official march will be a variety of well-known corporate sponsors. Every Pride month, consumers see their favorite brands add rainbow stripes to their logos, fly flags from their headquarters buildings and add attractive gay and lesbian couples to their ads.

Are consumers so gullible as to actually choose to spend their money on a brand with a rainbow?

As the website Popular Information noted, a survey by Harris Interactive found “approximately two-thirds of LGBT adults, or roughly 66 percent, would be very or somewhat likely to remain loyal to a company or brand they believed to be supportive of the LGBT community, even when less-supportive competitors offered lower prices or greater convenience.”

Of course, come next week, the calendar will flip to July, and it’s buhbye to all the cute gays, sparkly rainbows and boldly-colored banners flown by big businesses.

They might be taken down a few days sooner once word gets out about the new report Popular Information worked on with Progressive Shopper. Nine of the biggest, most LGBTQ-supportive corporations in America gave about $1 million or more each to anti-gay politicians in the last election cycle.

The companies include familiar names like AT&T, UPS, Comcast, Home Depot and General Electric. All told, their donations totaled almost $15 million."

#pride #lgbtqia+#queer liberation march #world pride #lgbtqia pride #u.s. politics #corporate donations #corporate giving #pfizer #ups #at&t #comcast #fedex #home depot #ge #general electric

9 notes · View notes

mattkennard · 6 years

Text

In the Valley of Death: Somaliland’s Forgotten Genocide

Published: The Nation (22 October 2018) w/ Ismail Einashe

On a hot and humid June afternoon, a group of boys wearing FC Barcelona jerseys kicked around a soccer ball in the Malko-Durduro, a dry seasonal river on the outskirts of Hargeisa, the capital of the breakaway territory of Somaliland. At first glance, the flat, red earth of the riverbed made for a typical improvised pitch in this arid region. But recent heavy rains had exposed what had earned the area its moniker, the Valley of Death. Around them, human bones protruded from the ground. But these kids had grown up playing soccer surrounded by skeletal remains; they hardly noticed them.

Between 1987 and 1989, the regime of Somali dictator Siad Barre massacred an estimated 200,000 members of the Isaaq tribe, the largest clan group in the northwest part of Somalia. At the time, some Isaaqs were fighting for independence, and to eliminate the threat, Barre tried to exterminate all of them. Experts now say there are more than 200 mass graves in Somaliland, most of them in the Valley of Death.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of what is often called the “Hargeisa Holocaust,” when about 90 percent of the city was destroyed and tens of thousands of Isaaqs were killed. Yet there are no major plans to mark the horrors in Somaliland, or anywhere else for that matter. In the past, a few international organizations have recognized the bloodletting. A 2001 UN report investigating the attacks against the Isaaqs concluded, “the crime of genocide was conceived, planned and perpetrated by the Somalia Government against the Isaaq people of northern Somalia.” But the events have been mostly forgotten; the boys playing soccer did not know the story behind the bones.

Even in Hargeisa, many people don’t realize the extent of US support during the genocide. No American has ever apologized for what happened in Somaliland; there has been no internationally backed Truth and Reconciliation Commission; and no one has been criminally punished. There is little funding to investigate—let alone prosecute—the perpetrators. And some of the Somali genocidaires now have close ties to the US-backed government in Mogadishu of President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, known as Farmajo.

COLD WAR PROXY

The country of Somalia was formed in 1960, when British Somaliland gained its independence from Britain and joined with its much larger neighbor to east and south, Italian Somaliland. Nine years later, General Siad Barre took over in a bloodless coup and steered the young country toward the Soviet Union. Somalia was strategically placed along Africa’s longest coastline, and the Soviets welcomed a new proxy in the Horn of Africa.

This all changed in 1977 when Barre invaded the Somali-majority Ogaden region of southeastern Ethiopia. Previously Ethiopia had been aligned with the US, but after the Derg military junta seized power in 1974, the Soviets had begun supporting Somalia’s communist neighbor. Forced to choose between allies, the Soviets sided with the Derg junta, and sent arms and military advisers . Cuba’s Fidel Castro provided an additional 13,000 troops, and Ethiopia repelled the Somali army in 1978.

Livid at the Soviet support for Ethiopia, Barre switched sides, allying himself with the US. In January 1981, former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger visited the presidential palace in Mogadishu, hoping to further strengthen US-Somalia ties. Barre had criticized President Jimmy Carter for not backing his country against the Soviets. But now Kissinger was convincing President Ronald Reagan to view Somalia as a crucial theater for US-Soviet confrontation. A year later, Barre made the trip to Washington, DC, to meet with Reagan in the Oval Office. Grainy footage of the encounter shows Barre asking Reagan for help. “Somalia is not afraid of any other country in the region, but it cannot cope with a superpower like the Soviet Union,” he told Reagan.

Barre said the United States agreed to help Somalia, because it “is also in its own interest.” In the 1983 budget, Reagan requested $91 million in military and economic assistance for Somalia, plus another $18 million in food aid for refugees. That year Somalia’s entire GDP was less than $750 million.

Around this time, Paul Manafort, a lobbyist who would become the chairman of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, took on the Barre government as a client. In 1980 Manafort founded the lobbying company, Black, Manafort and Stone, which had close ties to the Reagan White House and later the George HW Bush administration. Riva Levinson, who worked with Manafort in the 1980s, has said she asked at the time, “Are we sure we want this guy as a client?” Manafort sounded agitated: “We all know Barre is a bad guy, Riva. We just have to make sure he’s our bad guy.”

Manafort did PR for Barre even as he was massacring the Isaaqs. Levinson said Manafort sent her to Somalia to have Barre sign a contract for $1 million. “Our assignment would then be to clean up Siad Barre’s international reputation, which needed plenty of soap,” she wrote in The Washington Post in 2017.

With Manafort’s PR work and the country’s anti-Soviet Union alignment, the US was happy to turn a blind eye to Barre’s abuses. By 1988, the US had given his government hundreds of millions dollars of military and economic aid, and Barre had become entirely dependent on US support.

THE GENOCIDE AND THE US

Barre had long targeted and discriminated against the Isaaq tribe, and so in 1981 in London, Isaaq dissidents formed the Somali National Movement (SNM) to overthrow Barre’s rule in the north of the country. Barre responded to this insurgency with a ruthless military campaign. In 1988, Amnesty International reported the Barre regime used ”widespread arbitrary arrests, ill treatment and summary executions” and torture of those suspected of collaborating with the SNM. They found that those who opposed the Barre regime were gathered, bound, and taken to places like the Valley of Death where they were shot and buried in unmarked graves.

One of the most brutal parts of the genocidal campaign was the destruction of Hargeisa, the largest city in northern Somalia. In May of 1988, Barre’s regime sent in fighter jets to level the city. The destruction of Hargeisa was so total that it earned the nickname “the Dresden of Africa.” Bombing missions and ground troops attacks killed more than 40,000 people. Burao, the third largest city in Somalia at the time and the second principal city in northern Somalia, was razed. The relentless violence against Isaaq civilians in 1988 resulted in the world’s largest refugee crisis. More than 300,000 refugees fled to Ethiopia, most of them arriving in the small border town of Harta Sheikh in Ethiopia, which became the largest refugee camp from 1988 until it closed in 2004.

Saad Ali Shire, Somaliland’s current foreign minister, told us, “In 1988, when the government started bombarding Hargeisa and other towns in Somaliland, the Americans were of course friends of the Siad Barre regime … for strategic reasons. … And they gave Siad Barre arms—arms were unloaded in Berbera port—and it was reported by Amnesty International and other human-rights organizations at the time.”

He paused and then said, “The US was not directly involved in the inhuman treatment of the people of Somaliland, but, like many other allies of the regime then, of course their hand was there.” The US mission to Somalia did not return a request for comment.

The US knew what was going on and maintained its support. A cable released by Wikleaks from that period and sent by the US embassy in Mogadishu noted: “Many displaced persons (i.e. Isaaqs) would have returned home long ago had they not been deterred from doing so by … government forces.” The cable continued: “Isaaqs, suffering from thirst, hunger, disease, and abominable camp conditions, were demanding to go home.” There was no discussion of cutting support for Barre as the genocide unfolded.

But as the US ramped up its bombing campaigns in Iraq and the Cold War ended, the US eventually decided to redirect its resources from Barre’s government to the Middle East. Without US support, the government of Somalia collapsed.

Around that time, on May 18, 1991, the SNM declared the northwest bit of Somalia independent and established the Somaliland Republic. The international community still does not recognize Somaliland as a sovereign country, but it has all the trappings of a nation-state—a Constitution, a president, a currency, and even biometric passports.

THE HUMAN CONSEQUENCES

Three tumultuous decades later, the genocide still haunts survivors. Somaliland has one main tribute to the victims: In the middle of a traffic island in Hargeisa, the rusting shell of a MiG fighter jet shot down by the SMN sits perched on top of a wall with murals of mass slaughter. The central figure in one painting is a man with blood spurting out of his limbs after his arms and legs have been chopped off.

For survivors like Yusuf Mire the trauma depicted on the murals is still fresh. During a crackdown in 1988 by Barre’s forces in the city of Burao, Somali troops hacked off his left arm, and abducted and killed his family.

Mire has dedicated his life to uncovering the truth of what happened in the Valley of Death. He works with survivors and families of the disappeared, helping those who, like him, had loved ones that never returned from Barre’s killing fields. Mire told us that the US is simply not interested in digging up the past or funding forensic investigations in Somaliland. Given the US role, he said they’d prefer to prop up the government in Mogadishu and for the truth to remain buried.

Ismail Abdi is another survivor who works with vulnerable children in Somaliland for a British humanitarian NGO based in Hargeisa. As a young teen, Abdi ended up at the Hargeisa Orphanage. Then, in May 1988, from the orphanage window, he watched Barre’s military personnel execute a family; he still remembers the screams of dying children. Abdi sent us a photo taken by a Dutch woman who had worked at the Hargeisa Orphanage in 1988. The photo, which Abdi asked us not publish, showed the bodies of a woman and her children covered in blood.

We met him in the garden of a swanky hotel in the center of Hargeisa; men sat nearby on plastic chairs eating goat curry and drinking mango juice. Abdi lamented that young people now do not know what happened, and said he wants “justice for our people.” Abdi said he wants the evidence he has collected about this one family to be used to bring those responsible to justice. But like most Somalilanders, he does not have the money to pursue those responsible in the courts either internationally or in Somaliland, a country that does not officially exist.

But there is an organization Abdi is hoping can help bring those responsible to justice. In the mid-1990s, Somaliland’s first president, Mohamed Haji Ibrahim Egal, established the Somaliland War Crimes Investigations Commission to find and unearth the mass graves, offer proper burials to victims, and bring judicial action against those responsible for the killings. The US government has offered no help.

Without international support, the Commission is woefully underfunded, according to the Khadar Ahmed, the Commission’s chairman. It lacks the necessary resources to properly investigate or collect the evidence needed to bring about prosecutions.

The Commission usually gets tip offs from locals about the mass-grave locations after rains expose new bones. Then staff members place piles of stones with red marks on them adjacent to the graves to alert the community. The Commission is tasked with investigating these graves, but with such tight budgets, graves are identified but few are ever dug up. Since it was founded, the Commission has exhumed 11 mass graves and reburied 318 skeletons, including a recent ones in Hargeisa and another in Berbera.

Ahmed said he’s upset that the US and other western powers have taken so little interest in the genocide: “As Somaliland Republic we are expecting to hear from the UN to establish a tribunal like Rwanda.” But their requests have been met with silence. Ahmed said that many of the killers are now hiding in plain sight in the US, Kenya, Canada, and elsewhere. Because it’s not a recognized state, Somaliland does not have the power to push for a UN-backed war-crimes tribunal, like in Yugoslavia or Sierra Leone.

As time passes, evidence gets lost. In the Valley of Death, rainfall reveals new skeletons, but it also erodes and washes away the bones. Thankfully, while the US government has not provided any support, the San Francisco-based Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA) has stepped in, and introduced the Commission to the Peruvian forensic anthropology team Equipo Peruano de Antropología Forense (EPAF), led by Franco Mora. Since 2012, EPAF has been excavating the mass graves in the Valley of Death and other parts of Somaliland, identifying and recovering as many bodies as possible. They are also helping the Commission provide proper burials. “Our work is only humanitarian; we try to recover and identify the disappeared and to bury them with dignity,” Mora told us.

Ahmed said that the Commission has to pay the EPAF to dig up the graves, but complained that the Somaliland government can only afford to do this, at most, twice a year. With an estimated 200 sites, “we don’t have the capacity to carry out the work ourselves,” he said.

The Commission hopes the remains unearthed by the EPAF team can be used not only to get a better idea of what happened, but also as evidence to convict or hold genocidaires accountable. But this will be tough. Mora said his team is only, “recording the injuries and establishing the most probable cause of death.” He said to establish a legal case you would need not only information retrieved from the bodies and graves, but also historical information and documentation, which is nearly nonexistent because so many government records were destroyed during the war. The only reliable documents about the Barre regime’s genocidal campaign are held by countries like the US or international human-rights groups.

There have been a few successes holding perpetrators accountable, but to expand beyond the handful of cases requires funding and for the US to release more of its records. In 2012, the CJA helped a group of Somalis living in Virginia secure a $21 million judgment in a US federal court against Mohamed Ali Samantar, who served as prime minister under Barre. The court ruled that he was responsible for planning the torture and killings of Isaaq clansmen.

In 2016, a CNN investigation publicized another Somali who arrived in the US after allegedly participating in the genocide. Yusuf Abdi Ali stands accused of war crimes while a colonel in Barre’s regime during in the 1980s. He was head of the Somali army’s Fifth Brigade, which is said to have tortured clan members and burned down villages. For 20 years, he had lived near Washington, DC, and worked as a security guard at Dulles Airport (he was suspended after his identity was revealed).

The CJA brought a lawsuit against him in 2004. The CJA is representing Farhan Warfaa, who was nearly killed by Ali during an interrogation in 1987. In a 2016 ruling, the Fourth Circuit dismissed Warfaa’s claims of war crimes and crimes against humanity, but upheld claims of torture and attempted extrajudicial killing. In June 2017, the Supreme Court allowed for the CJA to continue pursuing Warfaa’s claims under the US Torture Victim Protection Act.

But the US government has not been as keen as the CJA to help. Ali’s background had been revealed as far back as 1992 when Canadian broadcaster CBC News uncovered that he had worked as a security guard in Toronto after fleeing Somalia in 1991. Despite this, US authorities did not prevent him from settling in the US. The US authorities knew his record, but allowed him to settle in the US, get a job at Dulles airport, and live a suburban American life.

Of course not all the Somali perpetrators headed to the US. Last year, General Mohammed Said Hersi Morgan was filmed watching Farmajo’s presidential inauguration in Mogadishu, apparently as a guest. Morgan, known as the “butcher of Hargeisa,” has lived freely in Kenya since the collapse of the Barre government in 1991. Many Somalilanders hold him responsible for carrying out the Isaaq genocide; in 1988, he’s reported to have ordered his troops “to kill all but the crows.” Yet he still gets invited to political events in Mogadishu.

One thing Somalilanders are adamant about is that no one involved with the Somali government in 1988 can claim they didn’t know. “I think everybody was aware of what was happening,” Saad, the foreign minister, told us. “Perhaps they didn’t have the full picture of what was happening, but the fact that the Siad Barre regime was undemocratic and brutal and murdering many civilians was well-known. … But sometimes superpowers look the other way.”

Somaliland is now asking for the US to pay attention to these crimes that they funded. The people of Somaliland say they need help to reckon with the bloody history that remains buried underneath their feet.

#somalia #somaliland #us foreign policy #genocide #isaaqs

2 notes · View notes

newstfionline · 3 years

Text

Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Surging global food prices (Washington Post) A year of coronavirus pandemic saw a pot of jollof rice grow steadily more expensive in the Nigerian suburb of Nyanya. At Nyanya Market, near Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, the price of the rice that forms the base for the dish went up by 10 percent. A small tin of tomatoes? Twenty-nine percent costlier. And the onions? Their price jumped by a third, according to a Nigerian research firm. Surging consumer food prices are a local problem—and a global one. In Russia, an increase in pasta prices left President Vladimir Putin boiling. In India, it’s cooking oil, and in Lebanon, bread. In meat-loving Argentina, the cost of some cuts of beef has doubled, and beef consumption is at an all-time low. The issue has made headlines the world over, including in the United States, where inflation has climbed to 5 percent, the highest level in 13 years. “Even relatively well-off people complain about how food prices are seemingly on an unstoppable tear,” said Feyi Fawehinmi, a Nigerian author and analyst based in Britain.

Hackers demand $70 million to unlock businesses hit by sprawling ransomware attack (Washington Post) A hacking group that experts said was behind the sprawling ransomware attack that hit hours before the beginning of the July Fourth holiday weekend is demanding $70 million to unlock the thousands of businesses affected by the hack. REvil, the group that was behind the attack on meat processor JBS, posted the demand on a dark-Web site associated with the group. The group wants the funds in bitcoin, a popular cryptocurrency, and said if it receives the money it will publish a “decryptor key,” or a computer code that will unlock the victims’ files. The attack was carried out through software that helps businesses manage their computer systems, made by Miami-based firm Kaseya. On its website, the company said “fewer than 1,500 downstream businesses,” had been affected.

20 years after 9/11, lawsuit against Saudis hits key moment (AP) As the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks approaches, victims’ relatives are pressing the courts to answer what they see as lingering questions about the Saudi government’s role in the attacks. A lawsuit that accuses Saudi Arabia of being complicit took a major step forward this year with the questioning under oath of former Saudi officials, but those depositions remain under seal and the U.S. has withheld a trove of other documents as too sensitive for disclosure. The information vacuum has exasperated families who for years have tried to make the case that the Saudi government facilitated the attacks. Past investigations have outlined ties between Saudi nationals and some of the airplane hijackers, but have not established the government was directly involved. The Saudi government has denied any connection to the attacks. But the question has long vexed investigators and is at the heart of a long-running lawsuit in Manhattan on behalf of thousands of victims. The issue gained traction not only because 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi—as was Osama bin Laden, the mastermind—but also because of suspicions they must have had help navigating Western society given their minimal experience in the U.S.

Grasshopper Population Jump (Guardian) Deep drought, excessive heat, and wildfires aren’t all that’s threatening lives and livelihoods in the American West. Sweltering conditions are ideal for grasshopper survival, from hatching eggs to adulthood. The ravenous insects are proliferating, arriving in swarms so dense it seems the earth is moving. They’re covering roads and fields, pelting ATV riders, and steadily devouring grains and grass to the torment of farmers and ranchers. They compete with cattle for tough-to-find wild forage, and cost tens of thousands of dollars in lost crops and associated costs. One cattle rancher in a small community in southern Oregon recalled seeing grasshopper bands eat 1,000 acres a day and cover the ground like snow. “I can only describe grasshoppers in expletives,” he said. “They are a scourge of the Earth … They just destroy the land, destroy the crops. They are just a bad, bad predator.” When grasshoppers hatch, they’re so tiny about 50 can fit on a coin the size of a quarter. They’re susceptible to pathogens, brutal winters, and starvation while young, so normally, most would die off before reaching adulthood. But thanks to warmer and drier winters that favored survival, grasshopper populations began ballooning in spring 2020. “The biggest biomass consumer in the country are not cattle, are not bison. They are grasshoppers,” said an entomologist and agricultural scientist who works for Oregon’s department of agriculture. “They eat and eat from the day they get born until the day they die. That’s all they do.”

Four-day week 'an overwhelming success' in Iceland (BBC) Trials of a four-day week in Iceland were an "overwhelming success" and led to many workers moving to shorter hours, researchers have said. The trials, in which workers were paid the same amount for shorter hours, took place between 2015 and 2019. Productivity remained the same or improved in the majority of workplaces, researchers said. A number of other trials are now being run across the world, including in Spain and by Unilever in New Zealand. In Iceland, the trials run by Reykjavík City Council and the national government eventually included more than 2,500 workers, which amounts to about 1% of Iceland's working population. A range of workplaces took part, including preschools, offices, social service providers, and hospitals. Many of them moved from a 40 hour week to a 35 or 36 hour week, researchers said.

US left Afghan airfield at night, didn’t tell new commander (AP) The U.S. left Afghanistan’s Bagram Airfield after nearly 20 years by shutting off the electricity and slipping away in the night without notifying the base’s new Afghan commander, who discovered the Americans’ departure more than two hours after they left, Afghan military officials said. “We (heard) some rumor that the Americans had left Bagram ... and finally by seven o’clock in the morning, we understood that it was confirmed that they had already left Bagram,” Gen. Mir Asadullah Kohistani, Bagram’s new commander said. Kohistani insisted the Afghan National Security and Defense Force could hold on to the heavily fortified base despite a string of Taliban wins on the battlefield. Meanwhile, in northern Afghanistan, district after district has fallen to the Taliban. In just the last two days hundreds of Afghan soldiers fled across the border into Tajikistan rather than fight the insurgents. On display on Monday during was a massive facility, the size of a small city, that had been exclusively used by the U.S. and NATO. The sheer size is extraordinary, with roadways weaving through barracks and past hangar-like buildings. There are two runways and over 100 parking spots for fighter jets known as revetments because of the blast walls that protect each aircraft. One of the two runways is 12,000 feet (3,660 meters) long and was built in 2006. There’s a passenger lounge, a 50-bed hospital and giant hangar size tents filled with supplies such as furniture. Kohistani said the U.S. left behind 3.5 million items, all itemized by the departing U.S. military. They include tens of thousands of bottles of water, energy drinks and military ready made meals, known as MRE’s.

Debris from missing plane found on Russian Far East Kamchatka peninsula (BBC) Debris from a passenger plane carrying 28 people which went missing in the Russian Far East on Tuesday has been found, officials say. The An-26 aircraft lost contact with air traffic control shortly before it was due to land in the settlement of Palana, in the north of the remote Kamchatka peninsula. It is thought unlikely that anyone survived the crash. Unconfirmed reports say it hit a rock as it was coming in to land. It is thought that it then crashed on the coast.

In Myanmar, the military and police declare war on medics (AP) The clandestine clinic was under fire, and the medics inside were in tears. Hidden away in a Myanmar monastery, this safe haven had sprung up for those injured while protesting the military’s overthrow of the government. But now security forces had discovered its location. In Myanmar, the military has declared war on health care—and on doctors themselves, who were early and fierce opponents of the takeover in February. Security forces are arresting, attacking and killing medical workers, dubbing them enemies of the state. With medics driven underground amid a global pandemic, the country’s already fragile healthcare system is crumbling. “The junta is purposely targeting the whole healthcare system as a weapon of war,” says one Yangon doctor on the run for months, whose colleagues at an underground clinic were arrested during a raid. “We believe that treating patients, doing our humanitarian job, is a moral job….I didn’t think that it would be accused as a crime.” Myanmar is now one of the most dangerous places on earth for healthcare workers, with 240 attacks this year—nearly half of the 508 globally tracked by the World Health Organization. That’s by far the highest of any country.

HK leader says ‘ideologies’ pose security risk, teenagers need to be monitored (Reuters) Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Tuesday “ideologies” posed risks to national security and urged parents, teachers and religious leaders to observe the behaviour of teenagers and report those who break the law to the authorities. The financial hub has taken a swift authoritarian turn since China’s imposition of a sweeping national security law last year and changes to its political system to reduce democratic participation and oust people deemed disloyal to Beijing. “For a long time, citizens have been exposed to wrong ideas, such as achieving justice through illegal means,” Lam told reporters, adding that national security risks stemmed not only from “public order” acts, but also from ideology. About an hour after Lam spoke, police said they had arrested nine people, including six secondary students, on suspicion of terrorist activities. The city has been polarised since protesters took to the streets in 2019 demanding greater democracy and accountability for what activists called police violence. Authorities have said the protests were fuelled by foreign forces and exposed risks to national security. Since the security law was introduced, the most prominent government opponents have been jailed or fled abroad. Critics say the legislation has crushed the city’s wide-ranging rights and freedoms, while supporters say it has restored stability.

The Great Escape (Guardian) An Australian woman has been fined $2,500 after kicking down a door and scaling two hotel balconies in order to get out of quarantine. Claiming she simply wanted to go to her mother’s house in Cairns, the 22-year-old pleaded guilty before a Queensland court for failing to comply with the public health mandate. The woman initially tested negative for Covid-19 when she entered quarantine, but the results of her second test are not yet known. The court ordered her to pay a $2,500 fine and return to hotel quarantine on Tuesday.

Smugglers are partly behind Lebanon’s energy crisis (Washington Post) The Lebanese armed forces have lately stepped up their border patrols amid rising public fury over the smuggling of fuel to Syria in the middle of what is Lebanon’s most severe fuel crisis in its history. Lebanon’s worsening financial meltdown has been accompanied by a dire shortage of imported fuel. Roads in cities like Beirut and Tripoli are now lined with cars queuing for hours to get their allotted amount of gasoline, at most a third of a tank. The waits are so long that people order food delivered to cars. Tensions are so high that scuffles have become normal. At least six shootings have taken place at gas stations over the past two weeks. Taxis and Ubers are disappearing. Warnings abound of valet attendants siphoning fuel from cars they park. Yet smugglers have discovered there’s good money to be made by buying gasoline in Lebanon at the heavily subsidized price and then selling it on the black market in Syria, which has a debilitating fuel crisis of its own. Smuggling across the 250-mile border is not new, with an active illegal trade in both directions that includes arms, drugs, cigarettes, foodstuffs and people. The heightened campaign to stem the flow of gasoline across the border is proving no more successful than earlier efforts to stop other types of smuggling.

#headlines #news

0 notes

lady-therion · 6 years

Text

Everything I Meant to Say: Part 1 [Nessian]

Summary: Cassian sends the wrong message at the wrong time.

(Modern AU.)

A/N: Based on a prompt that I just couldn’t resist. Even though I should be resisting it, because I have so many other writing projects to do.

***

Cassian didn’t mean to text her.

Hell, he wasn’t even sure why he had Nesta’s number in the first place. They parted ways six years ago and hadn’t said a word to each other since. The only time he even heard her name was during the holidays, when Feyre and Elain would discretely leave the dinner table to call their sister in the kitchen.

He never failed to notice how Rhys and Azriel often doubled their efforts to distract him while Nesta’s voice could clearly be heard in the other room.

She was always traveling somewhere now. The last he heard, she was in Paris. Or was it Prague? Sometimes, he would see her without meaning to. On a billboard somewhere. Or on the cover of a fashion magazine. Such was the glamorous life of a supermodel.

He should be happy for her.

He was happy for her.

Even when thinking about her still made him mad as hell.

Time heals all wounds, or so the old saying went. You would think six years would be more than enough time to forget the way they used to singe and scorch one another. But if there was one thing he and Nesta were good at, it was wounding each other deeply.

He still carried the scars with him to this day.

To be fair, she was probably still carrying hers too.

It was a thought that never brought him any comfort.

It also shouldn’t have been a surprise that things ended badly between them. Theirs was a break-up you could have written songs about. The kind of songs that won Grammys. Adele could have released an entire album based on the burning highs and simmering lows of their relationship. All they had left were embers and ashes, which still begged the question....

Why the hell did he text her?

Maybe it was because he didn’t mean to.

Maybe it was because he was also drunk.

Maybe it also had something to do with the fact that today was their anniversary and maybe he was always a little more vulnerable this time of year, a little more inclined to do stupid things.

Things like text her in the middle of the night right after getting shitfaced. He’d never done anything like that before, but then again, he had never been alone on this night before.

But Rhys and Feyre were spending the weekend at the cabin, Elain and Azriel were watching a movie downtown, and Mor and Andromache had gone clubbing at Rita’s. Even Amren was out and about with her mysterious boyfriend, probably terrorizing half the city with her antics.

They all invited him to come, of course. Because they were his friends—his family—and they wanted to be supportive. But nothing would make him feel shittier than being the third wheel; of being reminded that out of everyone in their inner circle, he was still alone.

He’s had lovers over the years. Nothing that lasted. But if he were being honest, nothing had really compared to what he and Nesta had. Even though he knew that their relationship was more of a measuring stick in disaster, rather than success. Yet they had almost gone the distance, the two of them. Had almost been serious enough to talk about a house, kids, a wedding...

Almost.

Almost was the saddest fucking word in the dictionary.

If their relationship could be defined by anything, it was all the layers of could-have-beens, should-have-beens, and might-have-beens that piled up in some dusty and forgotten corner of his heart. A corner that Nesta still laid claim to apparently, since he hadn’t been able to stop himself from scrolling through his contacts that night and pausing on her name.

He had just gotten home and collapsed into bed with the full intention of drifting into oblivion. Though most of the evening was a fog of drinks, pool, and flirtations that went nowhere, there was something niggling at the back of his brain, some vivid memory that made him sit up and open his phone…

The commercial.

That’s right. Nesta was on screen now.

And damn, did she still look beautiful. How was it fair that six years could go by—six whole years—and she could still take his breath away?

The commercial was a fifteen-second blip of dramatic camera angles, expensive dresses, diamonds, and exotic locations. But it was Nesta’s eyes that cut the knees right out from under him. He remembered that lovely, piercing, fiery gaze...how wild it made him in the bedroom...

“It’s your shot, Cas.”

He shook his head, muttering an apology to one of his pool buddies. Then proceeded to order as many drinks as possible until the evening became a blur. But apparently, not enough a blur to stop him from opening up his message history and scrolling through all the terrible things they hurled at each other before everything crashed and burned.

His blood stirred and his teeth bared as he poked and prodded old injuries. The things he said....the things she did...what the hell was he even doing? He was about to throw his phone to the other side of the room before his thumb stopped on an old photo that Feyre had sent them.

It was one of the rare photos that had Nesta and Cassian in the same shot.

It was the day at the pier, the year’s first snowfall coating them both like fine white dust. They weren’t even looking at the camera. They were looking at each other. Like they were the only two people in the world.

And there was Nesta, peeking up at him through those thick, gorgeous lashes as he pressed his lips to her forehead. He remembered how easily she fit into the space between his arms, like she was always meant to be there, like she belonged. And he remembered how tightly he held her, like he never ever wanted to let her go.

How were they to supposed to know that moment would be their last?

So he did the stupid thing.

He texted her. Three short words. That was it. Consequences be damned.

‘I miss you.’

There, he said it. It was the godawful fucking truth, but he said it. In the morning, he would kick his own ass for it, but right now, he didn’t care.

She probably had men hounding her all day. Wealthier men. Attractive men. Not that that pissed him off or anything. What was one text from an ex-boyfriend who she barely seemed to think about, especially since she fled the fucking country just to get away from him?

What the hell did it matter?

She would probably delete it anyway.

So he threw his hand over his eyes as lay there in bed, bad memories hounding him all through the night as he slipped into a fitful and dreamless sleep.

***

The next morning, he woke up with a wicked hangover. It wasn’t unexpected, and it certainly wasn’t his worst one. But he still felt like someone had taken a drill and aimed straight between his eyebrows. Shards of sunlight spilled through the blinds as the noises of the city—sirens, kids, dogs—streamed through his window.

He glanced at his clock. It was a little past nine—which was practically three in the afternoon for him. He had always been an early bird, something that Nesta always hated, but old habits died hard.

Nesta…

“Shit.”

He grabbed his phone, which had less than ten percent battery power since he didn’t even have the sense to plug it in last night. There was a bunch of notifications from friends and some less-than-subtle invitations from the women he met at the bar. But there, at the end of it all, was her name.

She texted him back.

Probably to tell him to fuck the hell off.

For a split second, he contemplated deleting it. There was no scenario in which reading it would lead to something good, especially when that scenario involved the two of them.

But fuck it, he opened it anyway. Because he was a sad, pathetic, masochist. And because somehow Nesta, even without being in the same hemisphere, could always get under his skin.

That goddamn commercial...why didn’t Feyre or Elain warn him?

His eyes skimmed over her message. Once, twice, three times.

His heart stuttered and stopped. In fact, it fucking flatlined as he read the words she typed from halfway around the world.

Because of all the things she could have said to him, he certainly wasn’t expecting this...

‘I miss you too, Cassian.’

***

Thank you for reading, my loves.

Other chapters be found in the Masterlist in my Bio / I am Lady_Therion on AO3

#nessian #nesta x cassian #acotar #acomaf #acowar #acofas

369 notes · View notes