#and it's full of activities that are totally outside of my comfort zone like drinking and dancing and being half naked in a spa

[murobrown]

.

#let me vent here real quick #bachelorette/bachelor parties are one of the most stupid concepts we ever created #it's disgusting and humiliating to me #if I'd have a person who loves me enough that they decide that they want to spend the rest of their life with me it's like an ultimate win #i mean what more do you want to achieve in life? isn't that like a main goal? #I don't even mean marriage that's useless but just that safe warm loving feeling #and then you gather all your friends and you're going to look at it as game over????? #so anyway I should attempt a stupid bachelorette party this weekend and it's useless and incredibly expensive #and it's full of activities that are totally outside of my comfort zone like drinking and dancing and being half naked in a spa #and you have to wear some dumb accessories so that you also humiliate yourself in front of everyone #and first I thought will be able to handle it but yesterday I panicked and asked if I can be excused from all those activities #and people don't understand that my concept of fun is different from theirs #and i don't mean this in any negative way towards those people #it's just different for me and I'd love you to understand that #but... it's also not nice from me to ditch them last minute and let down my friend that's getting married #but yesterday I just had this moment when I thought fuck no I'm going to think about myself for once and it's just not right #because then you make people upset... #the actual wedding is another thing I dread...it will be an actual nightmare and there's no way I will ever escape it #so yeah I'm just full of emotions and I don't know what's the right thing to do and how to keep others happy and myself calm #at least last night I dreamt about Jake Bugg hugging me and if that's not the sign I'm going spend the rest of my life with that man... #i also decided to survive both of those events sober just to make it more challenging for myself #alcohol has way too many calories and i just want stay in control of my brain #i will see if the only three friends i have will resent me after this #i needed to sort my thoughts here even though I know ot doesn't look like so #i hope that you all are having a wonderful day and doing fantastic ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[itbeabbyc]

Orlando Entertainment Culture

When you are looking for a new place to live, with endless varieties of entertainment and culture, what kind of things do you look for? For me, I look for activities, food, drinks, festivals, and music.  Growing up on Long Island, and right outside of New York City, I was fully surrounded by all of the culture and entertainment I could possibly imagine.  But, after living there for the first 20 years of my life, I decided to make the hard choice of leaving my comfort zone, and moving to a new place. Since it was my first move though, I wanted to go somewhere where I could still feel a sense of community and familiarity.  Orlando, Florida has been a second home to me my entire childhood, as I grew up going to Disney World multiple times every single year.  So, this felt like the perfect opportunity to have my first big move to a new city with a new culture.

Orlando is a really amazing and unique place when it comes to culture. You have all of those aspects of culture and entertainment that most larger cities have, with a huge added layer. Orlando’s theme parks like Walt Disney World and Universal Studios were a huge draw for me when I made the decision to come here. I love the theme parks, and knew working at the parks would be a fun opportunity for me as an entertainment management major. I found that the theme parks brought such a different cultural experience than many other places I’ve been. There is a huge community just within the theme parks and there are endless things to explore within each park.

My favorite aspect of the theme parks is their festivals throughout the whole year. Each park has their own festivals full of food, drinks, theming, and entertainment during each season. As someone who loves EPCOT(and works there), my totally biased opinion is that they have the best festivals. I think they have the perfect combination of live entertainment and special offerings that I usually can’t even completely see throughout the whole festival. I love the focus EPCOT has on culture and how they incorporate that into every single thing they do. With their Flower & Garden festival or Food and Wine Festival, you can try new foods from different cultures while also experiencing live concerts and performances around the park from local artists and more well-known artists.

While I have explored the theme park culture thoroughly, I feel like I need to explore more areas of Orlando. There is so much to see and do in Central Florida. Something else that I love about this area is the cruise industry. Living in Central Florida is amazing because you are 45 minutes away from both coasts that have beautiful beaches and cruise ports that make it super easy to travel. The best part about living in Orlando is the array of opportunities I can have, as far as my future career goes.  With such an immense entertainment industry with such variety, I feel like I have so many options once I graduate and I have a lot of peace of mind when it comes to that.  

If there was one thing I could improve about the Orlando entertainment culture, it would be the music scene.  There are concerts and a lot of smaller venues, but as someone who sees a lot of bigger artists, I think we could use a midsize arena or amphitheater.  With many artists only going to Tampa, Jacksonville, or Miami, I find myself always traveling to shows that I want to see.  I would much rather be able to drive 15-20 minutes to my shows, and Orlando could become a bigger hotspot for more famous artists.

As the time goes on and I am about to graduate, I find myself looking for what is next.  Where could I possibly have my next big adventure and learn about a new culture in a new place.  My best friend just recently moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and I have been considering moving there for a while now.  If I want to work in the music industry, Nashville would be an absolutely amazing place to be.  Each little area surrounding Nashville has its own scene and culture, and the more you explore it the more you realize it isn’t just for country music lovers.  It is so hard to even think about leaving this amazing city that I have called home for the past two years, but it also excites me to think about learning about a completely new place as I start this crazy new chapter in my life.

[hanniiesuckle17]

Stray Kids Reaction: Going Clubbing with S/o

A/n: not requested officially but one of my mooties was talking to me about it so ! also my last reaction was really angsty so this is just something fun (GIFS ARE NOT MINE! Credit goes to their amazing creators) 

(not thoroughly edited sryyy)

Warnings: mild cussing?, drinking, slightly suggested content

Tag List: @distrikt9​ @mini-meanhoe​ @poeticallyspaghetti​ @hanstagrams​ @desertofdessert​ @yangomangos​ @hoes4hoseok​ (General Tag List is Open!)

Bangchan:

Chan bopped his head along to the loud music as he waited for you to return from the restroom. “Hi, my friend and I saw you from across the way. Are you with someone by chance?” A pretty girl asked, coming up to him. Her painted nails brushed over the skin of his arm. 

“Umm...yeah. I am actually.”

This was the one part about going dancing with you that Chan didn’t like. The moment you left the table, a girl, or sometimes a fan would come up to him and try and get him to come home with them. Chan loved his fans more than anything, but when it came to someone trying to come between you and him he wouldn’t stand for it.

“My friend could use a date as well. Is your friend as handsome as you?”

Chan sighed and looked in the direction you had left in. “Actually, I’m here with my girlfriend.” The girl scoffed and motioned her friend over, who sashayed and sat in your seat at the bar. 

“A guy as attractive as you can’t just be tied down to one person!” Her friend exclaimed, gently pushing Chan’s shoulder in a flirty way.

“Sorry, but that’s the only way I do it.” He looked up to see you walking towards him. “Hey, baby girl!” He said wrapping an arm around you and kissing your cheek. You kissed him right back, patting his cheek.

“Hi, sorry. Have we met?” The girls eyed you up and down before walking away. The two of you laughed and you leaned down to kiss him again. “So, that’s why we haven’t been out clubbing in a while.” Chan smiled at you, taking a sip from his drink. “You know I always forget why until we go out.”

Chan only looked at you. It was that look that made you feel like you were the only girl in the club. The only girl in the world. “Dance with me?” He watched you nod, teeth dragging across your lip. 

Chan and you danced until your feet hurt and you were out of breath from jumping around to the DJ’s tracks. About one in the morning the two of you left the club, your heels in one hand and the other being held by your boyfriend. He goofily swung your hands as you walked down the street.

“That was SO much fun!” You cheered making him laugh. He laughed even harder when you tried to jump around and ended up wincing from the pain in your feet. 

“Piggyback?” 

Chan was already crouched down in front of you, his arms reaching back. Who were you to refuse? You carefully jumped on Chan’s back and wrapped your legs around his waist, arms holding tight around his shoulders. The two of you giggled as you walked to the subway station. You sat in his lap on the train planning the next time you two would go out.

“We should bring Felix next time!” You said patting his shoulder in excitement.

“Why?”

“So if people bother you, you can pretend to be foreigners! That’s such a good idea!”

“Baby, I think you are a little drunk.”

Minho:

“Name?” The bouncer asked, looking at his clipboard.

Minho’s right arm stayed glued around your waist as he reached for his wallet. Though most of his face was covered by a mask, his eyes twinkled as he showed the man his ID. He immediately let us through, telling us to enjoy our time. 

“Your name really does open doors.” You said holding onto your boyfriend. He laughed at your joke and pulled down his mask as you entered the club. The two of you had been looking forward to going out for so long. The boys were between comebacks so now was the opportune time. 

“Drinks or dance first?” He asked, surveying the lively venue. Lasers were bounding off the walls and loud EDM music was being played by a DJ. Taking his hand you led him onto the dance floor. He grinned at your choice. “Ah, a woman after my own heart.”

He goofily spun you around, before his hands fell on your hips, pulling your back to his chest. The two of you danced for a good hour. Minho loved to show off in front of you even if it meant drawing attention to himself. When one of his songs came on you would both look at each other and cheer, before bursting out and doing the dance. 

He smiled, watching you dance along to his choreography. The two of you had sweat beading on your foreheads by the time you made your way off the dance floor. Minho pulled you in for a heated kiss before you reached the bar. “I’m having so much fun!”  He said against your lips. 

“Me too!” 

Your boyfriend maneuvered you through the crowd, making sure no one bumped up against you. At the bar, he ordered your drinks and bopped along to the music with you. Your conversation was interrupted by a tap on his shoulder.

“Oh my gosh! It is you!” A girl shrieked, covering her mouth. “You’re Lee Know from Stray Kids!” He gave her a kind smile and nodded, looking over to you. You were used to this happening. “Can we get a picture?” He nodded and motioned for the girl and her friend to come closer to him. 

“Babe, could you take the picture?” 

You smiled, taking the girl’s phone and snapping a couple pictures. The girls both gave Minho huge hugs. You loved watching him with his fans. The other leaned over to you while her friend talked to Minho. “You are so lucky!” She said over the music. 

After a few minutes the girls returned to their group leaving Minho and you alone. “Back to dancing?” He asked dowing the rest of his drink. You cheered grabbing your glass from off the bar. 

The two of you danced until the DJ physically had to ask you to get off the floor because the club was closing. Minho wrapped a tired arm around you as the two of you walked, looking for a taxi. “We should go back next weekend.” He said, looking up at the night sky.

“There’s a new nightclub opening this Thursday, we could go then. I heard they are doing a blacklight rave for the opening!” 

“Oh, we are so going to that!”

Changbin:

You and Changbin were still in the very early stages of your relationship. The two of you had passed the honeymoon phase and were now entering the ‘chicken’ part of the relationship. You were ready to get serious with Changbin and so was he. However, in this part of the relationship neither of you wanted to seem like a boring dud so when an activity was suggested (no matter how out of your comfort zone) you both agreed to it, not wanting the other one to think you were the boring one. 

The music pumped through the speakers at an earsplitting volume. How did you end up here? That’s right. Felix and Minho wanted to go dancing at this brand new club that had opened down town. It was supposed to be this crazy new clubbing experience and the boys were excited to go try it. Changbin turned to you after they invited both of you. 

“Clubbing?” He asked hesitantly. Clubbing wasn’t necessarily your style. You would more likely prefer to be at home with Changbin with a pizza, he seemed up for it. (He was in fact not up for it. He wanted nothing more than to go to a chill movie with you that night.) The two of you shared a hidden strained look, scanning for any sign that the other was wanting to do anything but this.

“Sure!” Both of you said. Felix and Minho cheered high fiving each other. Little did you know, as you both looked away from each other, looks of regret were on both of your faces. 

You were awkwardly dancing next to Changbin smiling at his goofy moves. Every now and then he would pull you closer, wanting to dance with you but Felix or Minho would join in and ruin the moment. Changbin was a fantastic dancer and it seemed he could go for ages. (He could not in fact go for ages. He wanted you to think he had good stamina. He was literally gasping every time you looked away.)

“You want to get a drink?” You leaned into him, shouting over the music. He nodded, hand on the small of your back, leading you to the bar. Finally, the two of you made it to the bar, finding an open seat for you to sit down in. Your feet were killing you. “What do you want to drink?” You asked, holding his hand.

“Ummm...I’ll just do a beer.” He shrugged his shoulders, smiling at you. (Lie. He wanted one of those sweet colorful drinks with fruit on the rim and a swirly straw.) You ordered for the two of you and smiled feeling Changbin’s lips press to your cheek. “Are you having fun?” He asked, trying to hide the strain in his smile as you sipped on your drinks.

“Yeah!” You nodded, looking out into the club. Changbin was nodding his head to the music. He looked like he was enjoying himself, but you couldn’t do this anymore. “Actually,” He turned, giving you his full attention. “I’d rather be anywhere else right now.” 

His eyes widened and you were surprised when he laughed and started dragging out of the club. “Thank goodness! Let’s get out of here. I want cheap pizza.”

You grinned holding tight onto his hand. “Yes! Cheap pizza sounds awesome!”

Hyunjin:

Half the fun of going clubbing with Hyunjin was waiting in the line outside. It was usually cold, so his arms were wrapped tight around you as you patiently and slowly moved forward in the queue. Hyunjin always made the most boring things in life fun. In fact, you loved waiting in lines with him. 

“But, yeah, she totally stole the first eight paragraphs of my thesis.” You said, shivering in Hyunjin’s arms. 

“That bitch.” You smiled up at his dramatic reaction. The two of you shuffled forward almost at the front of the line. You noticed a few people across the street staring at you, some with phones in their hands. 

“Fan alert,” You whispered, causing Hyunjin to look up and around him. Your relationship wasn’t a secret. The boys had been off the dating ban for awhile. No one was surprised Hyunjin was the first to get a girlfriend. He waved over to the fans who screamed a little bit, making the two of you laugh. 

“How much you wanna bet that we have photos on twitter within the next hour?” He said wiggling his eyes brows. You hummed, cupping his cheeks. 

“I think they’ll be up in the next ten minutes.” 

Hyunjin scoffed, his eyes crinkling in a smile. “You’re on. Loser buys drinks?” After agreeing to the bet you watched the fans who were still across the street. You turned his head, a cheeky smile on your face. Hyunjin smiled when your lips pressed against his, girls squealing across the street, Thankfully your heels made the distance to his lips shorter. He pulled away, a smirk on the corner of his mouth. “You always cheat.” 

“No, I always win.” 

By the time you got into the club, you were correct. The pictures of you and Hyunjin were already trending on twitter. He paid for your drink and the two of you spent the next twenty minutes taking pictures for SNS. “I’m not going to take a picture after I’m all sweaty!” Hyunjin whined as he posed for you near an LED decoration. “Also, you look really hot holding that martini glass.” He said making you blush. 

The two of you finished your drinks before heading out onto the dance floor. Hyunjin always liked dancing towards the middle, he liked being in the crowd. It was a change of pace for him since he was usually on stage. Your hands draped around his neck playing with his blonde hair, as you danced, bodies pressed together. 

Going dancing with Hyunjin was one of your favorite things. There was never a bad part of the night and you almost always ended up continuing the night back at your shared apartment. Hyunjin smiled, feeling you grind up against him. 

“You really want to do that here?” He asked, nipping at your ear. 

After a few hours of mutual teasing, the two of you would climb into a cab, a little tipsy, and go back to your apartment. You would giggle at his jokes, legs draped over his lap as you two drove through the lit up city. 

Jisung:

Sweat dripped down the back of your neck. You had been dancing with some of the boys for a little over an hour. The only way to convince Jisung to go clubbing with you was if all the boys came along. You were surrounded by the dance line of Stray Kids as well as Jeongin and Changbin. Your boyfriend had decided he wanted to stay at the bar, with Seungmin and Chan. 

You looked over to see him smiling at you as you and Felix danced in all sorts of weird ways. He twirled you around making you laugh. “Lix, I’m going to go get a drink!” You shouted over the thumping music. Felix gave you a thumbs up before dancing with Changbin and Innie. As you walked away the three of them started up a kickline. 

You walked up the bar laughing. Seeing you coming, Jisung wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you into his chest. “Hi, handsome!” You said kissing his cheek. Seungmin rolled his eyes and Chan smiled at the two of you. Jisung watched as you leaned on the bar, flagging down a bartender. “Can I get a manhattan?” The man nodded and told you the total for the drink. 

“I’ve got it,” Jisung said, pulling out his card before you could reach for yours. The bartender looked to you, making sure it was okay to let Jisung pay for your drink. You nodded and wrapped your arms around Jisung’s neck.

“You didn’t have to pay for my drink.” 

“Yeah, but I wanted to.” 

Jisung wasn’t normally the club type. He was your little introvert. But, he was wrapped around your fingers so twice a year he would go out clubbing with you as long as the other boys came along. You sat and talked with the boys while sipping on your drink. Jisung kept his hand around your middle as the colorful lights bounced off your faces. 

Setting the empty glass on the bartop you leaned in pressing your lips close to Jisung’s ear. “Dance with me?” You felt him shiver, a smirk slipping onto your lips. 

“Bye, Assholes! I’m dancing!” 

Jisung dragged you out onto the dance floor waving goodbye to his friends. Instead of bringing you to the other boys, he pulled you to the center of the room, eyes trained on you as he moved with you to the beat. You turned around, your back pressed up against his chest. 

“Why don’t you dance like this with me at home?” He whispered in your ear. 

You smirked, reaching behind you and playing with his hair. “Why don’t you come to the club with me more often?” He laughed at your question, hands gripping your hips, rolling against his own. 

“Cause I’d rather be at home doing other things with you.”

You smiled, feeling his grip tighten on your hips. “Well, they do have a bathroom here you know?” You could practically feel the heat rushing to Jisung’s cheeks, but he wasted no time in dragging you down the hall towards the bathrooms.

“Shit, thank goodness for lockable doors.” He whispered before pressing a heated kiss to your lips.

Felix:

The colorful lights bounced off any surface they landed on creating a euphoric glow in the room. Felix was still dancing out on the floor. You stood by the bar waiting for drinks. You were more likely to get drinks at the busy bar than Felix was. Finally, the bartender came over and asked for your drink order. 

“Ummm...” You tried to think of a drink Felix would like since he didn’t specify. He usually trusted you to order for him if he couldn't order himself. “I’ll do a Tom Collins and a Cosmo.” The bartender nodded and started working on your drinks. You listened to the shake of the tin as you waited and looked around the nightclub.

A guy across the bar with dark hair waved at you with a sly smirk. Being polite you waved back but turned the other way. You heard a loud sigh beside you. Turning you saw a sweaty Felix leaning against the bar. 

“Hey, darling!” He tapped on the bar, still catching his breath. “What did you get me?” You smiled and told him the drink just as the bartender set the two glasses in front of you. As you reached for your cosmo, the bartender started to speak.

“Your drinks were paid for already by that guy over there.” 

Turning you saw him pointing to the guy from earlier. He waved and sent you a wink. Felix tried his best not to laugh. He inched closer eyeing the man across the bar. “Well, guess having a smoking hot girlfriend does have its perks.” He whispered into your ear, before kissing you. 

“How come you get free drinks out of this and I get weird guys hitting on me?”

“Well, you get free drinks too.” He laughed as you shrugged. You sipped on the sweet drink. “You wanna take this to a back booth?” Your boyfriend questioned motioning towards some secluded areas towards the back of the club. It only took a small nod for him to lace his fingers with yours and drag you to the area behind the dance floor.

Felix ordered bottle service for you both, since clubbing was sort of special occasion for you two. He liked going out clubbing, but it was a sort of special treat since he was always so busy. You spent the rest of the night in your private booth, drinking from the rather expensive bottle Felix ordered. You giggled and joked around, loving being in the upbeat atmosphere with Felix.

Before the two of you left the venue, you both took turns taking aesthetic photos at the club. Felix was the king of making your photos look good. After the two of you got your photos and had a quick makeout session on the dance floor the two of you headed back to your shared apartment. 

The next day would consist of debating which one of you would get out of bed to A) get the door when your takeout arrived and B) get the coffee and hangover medicine from the bathroom. It would be a quiet day with lots of ‘shhh-ing’ from the hangover headaches. 

Seungmin:

Seungmin wasn’t excited about going clubbing, but he knew how much you loved going out. You loved the whole process. Finding the perfect outfit, searching the bottom of your makeup bag for the best waterproof non-transfer eyeliner. Your favorite part was Seungmin letting you style him for the one night. It was fun having your own personal Ken doll/ boyfriend. 

You met the rest of the boys at the club. They cheered seeing the two of you walk in together. Since everyone came along you got a private booth and bottle service for the table. Seungmin smiled seeing you enjoy yourself. “You want to go dance?” You asked, setting down your drink. Seungmin shook his head, lifting his arm from your shoulder. 

“No, I’ll stay here and watch your drink for you. I think Chan and Felix are out there though.” 

He pointed out onto the dance floor to where the aussies were dancing. Well, Felix was dancing...Chan was pulling out some ‘dad’ moves, making Felix cringe. “Thank you, Minnie,” You said kissing his cheek. “I’ll go save Felix from our resident ‘dad’.” He laughed as you got up from the booth. 

He watched you dance your way over to the boys a smile on his face. 

“How long are you staying out this time?” Jisung asked, sipping on his third drink of the night. Seungmin shrugged. 

“Probably until she gets tired or I have to carry her out. Whichever comes first.”

The boys around him laughed. With loving eyes, he looked over and watched you goof around with his friends. Chan spun you around like you were ballroom dancing and Felix did the robot with you. 

You looked over at your boyfriend, giving him a bright smile and wave, the backlights making your teeth look whiter than usual. He waved back, sending you a finger heart, eliciting a giggle from your lips.

“Dude, you are so whipped,” Hyunjin said witnessing the exchange. Seungmin glared at him from across the table. It quickly disappeared when he felt your hand on his shoulder. 

“Minnie! You sure you don’t want to dance with me?” Your eyes sparkled under the colorful flashing lights. How could he say no to that smile? He looked to the boys who were watching him expectantly, wiggling their eyebrows and making childish gestures. 

“Just one dance,” He said, letting you pull him up from the booth and onto the floor. One dance turned into two. Two turned into four. Soon you were the one carrying him home because his feet hurt too much. “You evil person, you made me dance too much!” He whined, arm hanging off your shoulder as you left the club.

“You’re the one who ran back onto the dance floor when they started playing Day6.”

Jeongin:

Jeongin ruffled his hair, pieces sticking to his forehead with sweat. He had been dancing with you for hours. It was your birthday, and you wanted to celebrate by going out to a club. 

He had surprised you by renting out the venue and inviting all your friends including the other boys. “Are you having a good time?” He asked, twirling you around with a bright smile. 

“Are you kidding?!” You squealed, leaping into his arms. “This is incredible. I can’t believe you did this, Jeongin!” He blushed feeling you press your lips against his. He felt proud, being able to make you this happy. 

You had long since abandoned your heels, choosing to throw them with Jeongin’s jacket. He watched your bare feet pad against the concrete floor as you dragged him back onto the dance floor. He loved that out of everyone here at your party, you wanted nothing more than to spend your time with him.

Your friends passed by, giving you birthday wishes and greeting your boyfriend as well. “Don’t you want to spend time with your other friends?’ He asked dancing with you, as the song changed. 

You shrugged taking his hands in yours. “Everyone I could possibly want to be with is standing in front of me.” Heat rose to your boyfriend’s cheeks, making you smile. Your arms wrapped around his neck. 

After the party had ended, you and the boys tiredly stumbled out of the club, singing random songs. Jeongin’s smile glowed under the street lights. The two of you watched as Chan and Minho tried to pull a drunk Jisung away from climbing a light post. The two of you laughed, Jeongin stepping into the street to hail a cab. 

Before he could open the door for you, Jisung pushed passed him with a laugh as Chan worked on shoving him into the vehicle. “Sorry guys! I think we need this one.” You all laughed as Changbin and Minho joined them in the cab, purposefully squishing Jisung in the middle. 

The cool night air brushed over your shoulders making you shiver. Noticing, Jeongin took off his jacket and wrapped it around you. “This has been the best birthday. Thank you, Innie!” You leaned up and kissed him, making the remaining boys whoop and holler. 

The two of you waited until all the boys had left safely, some more safely and sober than others. He laced his long fingers with yours, before walking down the street with you. In the other hand he carried your heels. “You really are the best boyfriend.” 

He shrugged, a shy smile on his face, his eyes trained down on the pavement. “Promise me one thing?” He asked, swinging your hands between the two of you.

“Of course,”

“Don’t make me go clubbing more than once a year. That was exhausting taking care of the rest of the boys.” You burst out in laughter before nodding and kissing his cheek.

Requests are open my lovelies! Just send an ask!

Masterlist

#stray kids imagines #stray kids preferences #stray kids reactions #kpop imagines #stray kids #rubber ducky you're the one #stray kids masterlist #stray kids angst #stray kids scenarios #stray kids fake texts #stray kids apocalypse au #stray kids au imagine #stray kids au imagines #stray kids college au #stray kids incorrect quotes #stray kids social media au #stray kids soulmate au #stray kids oneshots #bangchan imagines #lee know imagines #changbin imagines #hyunjin imagines #han jisung imagines #lee felix imagines #kim seungmin imagines #yang jeongin imagines #stray kids fluff #stray kids smut #kpop reactions

[jokertrap-ran]

(光与夜之恋 Light and Night) Charlie’s 5✩ Inspiration: Daytime Spiritualities [昼日疑魂] Date Translation (END 5: Heart-throb)

“Entrust me all your fears and astonishment alike; there’s no need to hold back.”

*Light and Night Master-list | Charlie’s Personal Masterlist *Spoiler free: Translations will remain under cut *Join the Light & Night Discord (＾▽＾)~ ♪ *5✩ Inspirations have 5 Endings!! *CG Image used with permission from 蓝咕咕 ☆ *Charlie’s tag will be #For Night, For Paradox

✥ Choice: Heart-throb [心动] ★Night★

How should I reply to him…?

★ E5 NIGHT: Nope★

As an adult well-versed in the horror genre, I was immune to horror movies for the most part.

MC: Of course not. We can bet on it if you don’t believe me.

Charlie: Stakes?

It appears that I had aroused his competitive spirit, for he smiled at me with interest.

MC: How about we bet on… who gets scared out of their wits first?

Charlie: Are you certain? I’ve never once lost a bet.

It was a gamble where the outcome was uncertain. The loser would be the first to lose their composure from fear.

There’s no way I’d admit defeat all so easily in the face of a show-off like Charlie!

MC: Absolutely!

Charlie: Interesting. I accept your challenge.

Charlie: You’re going to be the one losing your pride if you get so terrified afterwards that you can’t move.

Charlie: But, before we commence this bet… Aren’t you forgetting a little something?

MC: What do you mean?

Charlie: Where did you go this morning?

MC: The hospital.

Charlie: Think again. Before the hospital?

MC: Before…? Oh, right! I went out to buy snacks.

I jumped up, running to the door and rummaging through the bag of groceries I’d left there.

MC: What do you want to drink?

Charlie: Beer, like you.

I secured two cans of beer from the contents of the bag… Wait, no! What did he just say? He wants to drink BEER!?

I thought he didn’t drink? I mean, last time…

⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹

During my last day off, Charlie had called me in the middle of one of my drinking moods.

Charlie: You’re drinking your sorrows away at home?

MC: I’m not drowning my sorrows in alcohol. I just felt like I was in the mood to drink; there’s an emotional appeal to it.

MC: Don’t you do the same when you go to bars?

Charlie: ...I do go to the bar, but I don't drink.

MC: ...Oh?

The rumoured star of the night who bombed a ton of money in private clubs is actually a “good boy”?

MC: How's that possible? You're lying, aren't you?

Charlie: Is it that odd to not drink?

MC: ...Not really.

Charlie: It's even odder to think that going to a bar equals drinking.

Charlie: Let’s just put it this way. The only reason why I go to bars is to play.

Charlie: And administering alcohol to the body is the greatest thing one can do to sully the living and perfect human brain.

Charlie: Especially this sort of low-quality alcohol made with fermented malt. 100g of the sweetened water called beer and its low molecular weight generates 180 joules of heat with your body.

Charlie: Drinking beer? Might as well swallow active bombs instead. At least, it’ll be much faster that way.

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So… Just what was going on here? It was one of the principles he lived by. Yet, he was doing a whole 180?

MC: Aren’t you afraid that ingesting alcohol will be an insult to that sober brain of yours?

Charlie: Didn’t someone say that drinking appeals to the mood?

Charlie: I'm with my Fiancée right now. Do you think I should retain a high level of reason, or show a rare moment of dullness?

MC: Do I have a choice?

Charlie: Of course not.

Charlie: Don’t worry. I won’t use the excuse of being inebriated to pull anything funny.

MC: ...Look who’s talking here?

Charlie: I can’t stand those sort of people.

Charlie took the can of beer from me before sitting back down.

Never mind; I'll gladly drop the topic. How can an adult not drink at all? Although, I bet his abstinence is probably so that it doesn't affect his job.

Click! Click!

The crisp sound of cans being opened sounded.

Never thought that he'd open it for me.

MC: Thank you, Dr. Zha!

I naturally held an outstretched hand out, waiting for him to pass me the open can of beer.

However, Charlie didn't react.

Click, click, clack…

The continuous sounds of cans clacking came from him.

I curiously peered over, only to find Charlie staring awkwardly at the cans with his brows furrowed. They were still as intact as they came.

MC: Charlie, don't tell me that not only have you never drunk alcohol, but you also don't know how to open cans…?

Charlie: You're questioning a doctor's practical ability?

MC: Then, you...

Pop!

Charlie had cracked the can open.

He freezes, frantically shoving the beer into my open hand. Then, he shoved his hands into his pockets, putting up a professional act.

Charlie: I have the habit of trimming my nails for surgeries, so it's not convenient for me to be opening cans.

For a moment, I didn't quite know what to say as I looked at our nails. They were nearly equally long.

He doesn’t drink. He doesn’t even know how to open a can. So why does he suddenly feel whimsical enough to start drinking today?

I cracked open his can of beer for him. He carefully wiped the foam that bubbled forth the mouth of the can with a tissue.

Charlie: Just now...

He took a sip of beer and slightly furrowed his brow.

Charlie: It was a mere mistake of a perfect person.

Charlie: It will not happen again.

Saying so, the glint of pride returned to his eyes once more. And the can of beer was quietly pushed far, far away.

MC: Okay, let's get back to watching the movie.

The paused screen lit back into action, encasing the room in a chilling and terrifying atmosphere once more.

The plot gradually thickened and I got increasingly absorbed with the movie.

Everything around me started to fade as I zoned into the movie, Charlie included.

Charlie: *Coughs*

MC: ……

Charlie: (Y/n).

MC: ……

Charlie: Are you really not scared?

MC: Stop moving.

All I could do was to use a free hand to keep Charlie in place as he fidgeted in his seat.

Charlie: ……

In the movie, the prisoner that was on death row managed to successfully escape into a cramped and narrow underground passageway. As muddy water splashed everywhere, the horrible cries of the jailer sounded from the other end of the door to the secret passage.

I'd given my entire self over to the movie at this point, watching the prisoner's every step with peeled eyes. I'd totally missed the faintest of all finger snaps in the world that'd sounded by the sofa.

Squeak…

The door to the entrance opened.

MC: Is the prisoner about to get caught?

However, the movie never cut scenes to show the jailer coming through the door. Still, I was fairly certain that I'd heard the sound of the door opening. And if had also been very clear.

Just as I was about to turn around to ask Charlie about it, I witnessed a bone-chillingly horrible scene…

The door the prisoner had closed suddenly opens. Sinister winds were brewing outside.

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MC: ……

MC: It should be a sealed-off corridor outside. There shouldn’t be any wind…

The more I thought about it, the more terrified I got. All I could see was the epitome of horror in this movie unfolding before my very eyes!

I felt a chill run down my spine; one different from anything I'd ever felt before, its icy tendrils spreading across my body. An alarm sounds in my heart. I was hyper-aware, with all my nerves strung tautly. It was as if any minuscule change in the surroundings would be able to set my senses off.

BANG!

A loud sound rang out in the air as the secret passageway’s metal door was knocked down. The jailer’s savage smile was reflected upside down in the pool of water by the prisoner’s feet.

MC: AH!

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I frantically covered my eyes, subconsciously backing away into the thing I was leaning against.

Crap! I had such a big reaction! He definitely noticed...

Alas, his low voice entered my ears.

Charlie: Scared now?

His warm and powerful arm snaked around me from behind, wrapping itself around me above the blanket.

My searching back hit his chest; and the moment it did, a small yearning for comfort started making itself known within my heart, growing ever more so… Just like a lost traveller who'd finally found the lone source of light deep inside the forest.

Charlie: Admitting defeat this quickly?

Charlie's warm breath brushes against the top of my head, making the shell of my ear burn. Just a little closer and my face would be able to access the crook of his neck.

MC: Am not.

I stubbornly refused to admit defeat, but my feeble voice, muffled by my hand, proved otherwise.

Charlie: If so, then why are you covering your eyes?

Charlie: You're the one who said we're going to be watching this together? Can't live up to your words now?

His chest rumbled slightly. There was undeniable mischievousness in his voice.

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Charlie: Last chance. I’ll count to three. Put your hand down, hm?

Charlie: Three.

MC: I’m not even closing my eyes! See!?

I vehemently glared at Charlie through the gaps of my fingers.

Charlie: Not counted. I don’t advocate such viewing methods.

Charlie: Two.

MC: ...What can you even do to me?

Charlie: You don’t want to admit defeat, but neither do you want to put your hand down. Is there ever a bet so kind in this world?

His bony left hand reached up to cover the back of my hand as he attempted to push my hand back down.

I struggled against him with all my might, but he was way too strong. Hence, I had no choice but to admit defeat in this losing battle.

MC: One. I lose!

Charlie lets up, dropping the strength he’d been putting behind his fingers and ruffling my hair.

Charlie: Why are your lips poised so high up? Mad?

Charlie: Losing to me is nothing to be ashamed about.

Charlie gathered up the blanket that pooled around my waist, inadvertently pulling me closer to him as he did.

I sulked and refused to reply to him. I can’t believe I still managed to get scared by a horror movie when I’m already a full-grown adult! Not only did I lose, but I also feel ridiculed by this!

Still, I didn't want to admit that Charlie's embrace certainly did provide me with a sense of comfort.

Charlie: There, there. Don't be scared. I'm here.

He gently pats the back of my hand, speaking softly in a manner one would comfort a child.

His warm chest pressed against my back as his steady heartbeat resonated alongside mine, beating in tandem.

MC: ……

In hindsight, I realized that I’d always felt at ease and that I could forget about all my troubles whenever I was with Charlie. Even though he never fails to render me speechless and makes me want to roll my eyes at him for the most part.

Maybe it’s because he’s always so frank about things with absolutely no intent to hide anything? I don’t know...

Leaning into Charlie’s embrace, my fear and panic slowly ebbed away.

However, the door still made me feel a little uneasy, and I often found myself looking at it with frazzled nerves.

Suddenly, I noticed something strange about the little tailor alarm clock by the door.

Its hour hand was pointed at 12. The small mechanical tailor that told the time had jumped out of the clock, bobbing as it frantically rolled its measuring tape back up. Yet… I did not hear any chimes from the clock itself.

MC: What's up with today?

MC: Please tell me it’s not an actual supernatural occurrence…

I was just about to ask Charlie about it when a far-fetched reasoning for this suddenly flashed through my mind.

And it ingrained itself in my brain upon appearance, growing ever stronger…

No sound, with only the motions… Why didn’t I think of this earlier?

MC: Charlie?

Charlie: Hm?

MC: Is there anything that can cancel out sound?

Charlie: Why do you ask?

He withdrew his hand and stuffed it back into his pocket. There was a sliver of wariness in his eyes.

MC: It just came to mind. Just answer me.

Charlie: Vacuum. Sound cannot travel without mediums, and there are no atoms or molecules in a vacuum.

MC: And isn’t that your talent?

Charlie: Y-Yes?

I was getting closer and closer to confirming my suspicions.

The door that had suddenly opened without a sound, and the soundless alarm clock. If there was a scientific reason to explain all of those, then it’d be…

Charlie had just created a vacuum inside the door. That way, the air difference in air pressure on the inside and the outside would be able to push the door open.

Pity; but the soundless alarm clock had given me enough hints to piece everything together.

MC: You purposely scared me so I'd admit defeat myself? Well done, Charlie.

The movie was currently showing the part where the jailer collided with the metal door.

Thud, thud, thud…

This sound was vaguely familiar. A sudden idea hits me.

I tugged on the corner of his clothes, purposely lowering my voice.

MC: Charlie, do you hear something?

MC: Thud, thud, thud. Like someone knocking on the door.

Charlie: Are you having auditory hallucinations now? That's coming from the movie.

He held my head with both hands, turning it left and right.

Charlie: You haven't gotten any water stuck in your ears either.

I directly put my finger to his lips and looked around warily.

MC: Not that. Listen carefully.

A distant but very real thud sounded above us.

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Charlie was so terrified that he'd started shaking as he looked up at the ceiling incredulously.

I took the chance to grab onto his arm, leaning sideways to get closer to him and whispered into his ear.

MC: Believe me now?

MC: Actually, I saw something by the door just now and…

Charlie: What! What’s by the door!?

He quickly shot up from the sofa, encasing me in the shadow cast by his tall and wide back.

The movie had been paused, stopping on the dark scene of the secret passageway. The door of my entryway was partially shrouded by the eerie lighting coming from the projector. The creepy atmosphere intensified.

Charlie silently stared into the darkness for a good ten seconds before letting out the breath he’d been holding.

Charlie: What can there be?

Charlie: If ghosts truly do exist in this world, then why would the world ever allow someone as perfect as me, someone, who goes against even the laws of nature, to exist?

The corners of his mouth were raised in their usual arc. Looks like he has already regained his spirits.

The only thing that betrayed the nervousness he felt deep down were his hands that had yet to crease trembling.

He placed both his hands into his pockets, putting on a calm facade as he surveyed the room…

He’s putting his hands into his pockets again? Does he like to do that whenever he feels nervous?

Charlie: Perhaps something fell upstairs. It’s just a coincidence…

He'd only just finished speaking when another thud sounded. This time, it was much more solid, the sound seemingly reverberating through the very air of my apartment.

All colour drained from Charlie's face. I hurriedly stood up.

MC: Do you hear that!?

Charlie: Yeah.

I hid behind Charlie, slowly putting my hand into his shirt pocket. I could feel the slight tremor of his shoulders through the thin fabric of his dress shirt.

Charlie: ...I certainly do hear something.

His adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed down more of his fear. He unwittingly attempted to put his hand back into his pocket… only for it to brush against my hand that had touched the cold beer earlier.

Charlie: AHHH! HELP ME!!

Charlie: SOMETHING’S HERE!

Charlie could no longer maintain his noble attitude. He jolted, frantically throwing his composed facade out of the window as he flung my hand away.

MC: It's me!

Charlie: You…

Charlie gripped onto my shoulder with one hand while the other went to his chest. His frantic breathing slowly eased back to a normal rhythm.

Maybe it’s about time I tell him about “that”?

MC: Actually…

MC: There was once a girl who'd been imprisoned here in this room. She died from starvation here. That's why you'll often hear the sound of the door being knocked in the middle of the night.

MC: I never thought that she'd make an appearance in the morning this time…

Charlie: You're joking, right!?

I shook my head with a pained smile.

I placed both hands on his shoulders as I reached higher. I cupped my hand and got close to his ear and purposefully lowered my voice.

MC: If everything was fine and well at my place, then why would I have to call you here to watch a movie with me?

MC: Don't tell me you're thinking of running…?

Thud!

A resounding thud suddenly rang out, shaking even the walls as it reverberated.

Charlie: AHHHH!!

Charlie lost all his composure, screaming shrilly as he dove for the loveseat. I lost my balance as my knees hit the loveseat.

Amidst the chaos, Charlie had wrapped his arms around my shoulders as we both tumbled into one of the corners of the loveseat.

Charlie's skin was flushed from all the adrenaline, his breaths coming out in short and ragged pants. He was akin to a laboratory mouse who had its amygdala stimulated, lying against my shoulder paralyzed in fright.

His shrill scream earlier still faintly resonated in the air, making my eardrums ring in protest. I could help but recall how confident of himself he looked back when he made the bet...

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Charlie: You’re going to be the one losing your pride if you get so terrified afterwards that you can’t move.

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MC: Pft- Hahaha! This is way too good!

I couldn't keep up the act anymore. I leaned my forehead against his as I snickered like mad.

MC: Okay, okay. I'm just pulling your leg!

Charlie: ...What?

Charlie: You're joking? But, you— I— Just now…?

Charlie raised his head, looking absolutely appalled. Having just had a tumble, a tuft of hair stuck out from the top of his head.

I grabbed the tuft of hair that stood arrogantly upwards and pushed it back down with a vengeance, smoothing it out in my revenge.

MC: Yeah! Who told you to scare me with your vacuum earlier!

I could acutely feel how his face immediately heated up against my shoulder. Is it because he just found out that I was tricking him? Or is it because of something else?

MC: So, can you get off me now?

Charlie: I refuse.

He simply buried his head into the crook of my neck shamelessly, avoiding my gaze.

Charlie: You'll have to first explain to me just what is going on here.

Charlie’s arms were snugly wound around my body, seemingly threatening not to let go until he’d attained what he wanted.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at that. Is this man truly the same Dr. Zha that was listed on the leaflet detailing the famed doctors of the Hospital...?

MC: The hungry ghost was just a story I made up to scare you

Charlie: Uh-huh.

Charlie: But, just now…

MC: That was just the heating pipes.

MC: The grandpa upstairs turns the heating on at noon every day.

MC: It's going to be summer soon, yet he still keeps it up. Always at 12 sharp. The man's way more on point than the afternoon news broadcast.

Charlie raised his head, his sweat-soaked hair brushing across my cheek. It was a little ticklish.

Charlie: That's it?

MC: Yup!

Charlie: Ahem.

He sat back up, lightly clearing his throat before composing himself. Gone was the embarrassment from having lost his composure.

MC: Phew… You finally let up, huh.

He reflexively smooths out his collar. Soon, he returned to his usual self that you were all so familiar with.

Charlie snaps to attention with his hands behind his back, purposely looking around the room in an off-handed manner.

Charlie: Actually, I could already tell that something was wrong with the structure of this housing apartment the moment I stepped into it.

Charlie: Alas, it was just as I expected. The pipings are so terribly loud.

Charlie turned to look at me, slightly lowering his head and peering down at me in approval.

Charlie: Also, your acting is really good.

MC: ?

Charlie: Actually… I wasn't scared at all.

MC: ??

MC: If so, then may I ask what’s the whole purpose behind the fear that you so kindly expressed earlier?

Charlie: I was merely playing along with you. It’s the greatest form of acknowledgement towards your acting skills.

Just who is playing along with whom, in this case? Is this even up for discussion?

Still, I think his red ears speak louder than words.

Charlie returns to his seat on the loveseat. His familiar warmth envelops me once more.

Charlie: You still lost today.

MC: How did this come back to that?

Charlie: You're the one who got scared out of your wits first. You still have a penalty to serve, so...

Charlie: Comfort me.

He turned his head to the side as he hugged me. His cheeks were a rarely seen shade of red. He was flushed from the neck to the tip of his ears.

Looking at how embarrassed he was, I couldn’t help but find it a little adorable.

The heat in his embrace didn’t make me feel uncomfortable. In fact, it made a reassuring sense of familiarity slowly spread through my heart, like a warm summertime breeze blowing from the side.

I boldly nestled deeper into his arms, basking in the soft dream-like moment.

MC: How rare for you to be so quiet.

MC: Man, if only your first instinct wasn't to pick fights...

Charlie: Please, Miss. It's not like you don't enjoy it either. It'll be over soon enough.

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The movie ends before we know it after the dazed silence that lapsed.

The projector stopped screening once the movie came to a close. The screen blanked out along with my guilt, panic, and fear.

And I’d completely missed the ending of the movie.

MC: Charlie? Do you remember how the prisoner who was sentenced to death got away?

I thought that Charlie would respond immediately in that prideful tone of his, giving me a clear and concise answer. Hell, I was even prepared to withstand another round of his narcissism if that ever came to pass.

Yet, he sounded a little unsteady and unsure, almost as if he too, was thinking of an appropriate answer.

Charlie: ...How did the prisoner getaway? Simple. He defeated the jailer who imprisoned him. All horror movies end the same way.

MC: He defeated… the jailer?

MC: The jailer here is a figment of his imagination; it doesn’t exist.

MC: The prisoner’s trapped in his own dream.

To prove what I’d said, I quickly pulled up the homepage of the movie where the summary and all the reviews were written. I pointed it out to him.

MC: Look, it’s even written in the movie’s summary…

I raised my head to clarify with him, but Charlie chose to completely ignore me, turning his attention to the plush pillow on the sofa. His eyes were very shifty.

Suspicious. VERY suspicious…

MC: Charlie, you… you didn’t take this movie seriously at all, did you?

Charlie closed his eyes in a slight grimace, his eyebrows knitting…

That reaction…. I KNEW IT.

However, he quickly bounces back from that moment of frustration. His expression suddenly turned serious and exaggeratedly grim.

Charlie: (Y/n), life is but a fleeting one.

The hell is this man talking about!?

I didn’t quite know why, but the serious tone he was taking with me sounded vaguely threatening. I could only nod in accordance.

Charlie: I see that you agree as well.

Charlie: If one wishes to have a glorious life as glamorous as the sun in this fleeting period, then some trivialities will have to be forgone.

Charlie: Alas, that movie earlier was an unfortunate one to have been forgone by this perfect life of mine.

MC: ……

MC: I see. I never knew that there was such a poetic way of saying “I don’t remember”.

Charlie: Who says I don't remember?

Charlie: I remember as clear as the day how my Fiancée got so terrified that she burrowed right into my arms.

I helplessly sighed. Looks like it'll be a long time and a good long way before I'll ever manage to understand how that brain of his works.

MC: Then, does the matter of rating and evaluating this projector still exist in your precious time of existence, Dr. Zha?

Charlie: The projector? Average.

Charlie: It's hard for me to be evaluating a projector below $200,000.

Charlie: But, I can consider using it as a console for couples.

He raised an eyebrow, smiling.

MC: And just where are your thoughts running off to?

Charlie: I'm just giving my honest, unbiased opinion.

Charlie: I hope you can convey this precious review of mine to the brand makers. Consider it my good deed for the day.

MC: Alright, Mr. Charitable.

MC: Now, are you quite done with your charitable acts? I'm going to pack the projector up and send it back.

Charlie: Why?

MC: Because… I feel like I don't really need a home theatre.

Charlie stilled my hand with his own, moving to block the projector off from me.

Charlie: Wait. I’ll take it if you can’t find a use for it.

Charlie: Send it to my house next weekend.

MC: You sure about that?

Charlie: Of course, I naturally have the right to accept any common personal property that my Fiancée chooses to give up.

Charlie: Come to my house next week, and don't stand me up.

With that being said, he confidently walked out of the apartment.

The golden sports car parked by the road gave a tremendous roar as it sped up. It soon faded away, replaced by the ever-present bustle of the people on the streets  

Watching the silhouette of the car gradually disappear, the events of what had gone on within my apartment resurfaced to the forefront of my mind… Charlie was far more bizarre than any horror film I'd ever watched.

However, it’s as if his appearance was slowly lowering my impenetrable guard over my small piece of land.

Now, as for what will appear in the future… Will it be volcanos? Or channels? Who knows; we’ll just have to wait and see.

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✥ Choose your Ending:

END 1 | Choice: Do Nothing [都不做]

END 2 + 3 | Choice: Approach [亲近] ⊹Touch⊹

END 4 | Choice: Listen [倾听] ❖ASMR

END 5 | Choice: Heart-throb [心动] ★Night★

❖☆————— ⊹ For Night, For Paradox⊹ —————★❖

Previous Part: Prologue

#光与夜之恋 #Light and Night #Otome #Translations #Tencent #查理苏 #Charlie #For Night For Paradox #昼日疑魂 #Daytime Spiritualities

[the-modernmary]

my best habit || aaron hotchner x reader (ch. 5)

Chapter summary: Aaron and the rest of the BAU finally make an arrest on their case, and you spend the weekend at Aaron’s.

Warnings: SMUT, oral (f receiving), multiple orgasms

prev. chapter || masterlist || read on ao3

I had a few, got drunk on you, and now I’m wasted

And when I sleep I’m gonna dream of how you tasted

- Harry Styles, “Medicine”

 ~~~~~~~

The investigation was slow going, and every day when you got off the metro to get to your internship, you would see the undercover van that you knew had BAU members cramped inside, sitting and waiting for somebody, anybody , to slip up and say something incriminating. 

  It was weird being at work knowing that it was bugged, but it did wonders for your productivity. Whenever Chris or another one of your friends at the office started to ask you about your personal life, you were able to deflect it with a quick “Sorry, I’m in the zone right now, and I’ve really got to focus!” Usually, you had no problem sharing, but you really didn’t want the FBI to have audio evidence of your retelling of you double fisting vodka Sprites the night before until you passed out in your bathtub. 

  You also hadn’t seen Aaron since that first night together, which was almost a week ago now. The two of you had been texting back and forth pretty consistently, but you quickly found that there was a variable that wasn’t there two years ago - Jack.

You should have realized that, of course , Jack would be living with Aaron now, but it never crossed your mind. Jack used to live with Haley, and Aaron rarely brought him up to you. Now that Jack lived with Aaron, it made things a little more complicated. It also meant that you couldn’t just show up at Aaron’s doorstep whenever you were feeling lonely, or vice versa. After a long and awkward phone call, Aaron and you had both agreed that it was best that Jack just didn’t meet you, just in case he got attached.

  “For now, at least,” Aaron had added at the end, and holy shit, you did not have the time to unpack whatever the fuck that meant.

  Especially not with Chris throwing a crumpled piece of paper at you like the two of you were in middle school and passing notes.

  You held up the ball of paper with a raised eyebrow. “Seriously? You have the desk across from me, you could have just said my name.”

  “What are you doing tonight?” he asked you, pointedly ignoring your question. “Nina just got the Catan expansion pack and she wants us all to come over.”

  You pursed your lips as you thought about the offer. You did love game nights with your friends, but it was Friday night and you were still holding out on the possibility of Aaron maybe being free and inviting you over. It was almost pitiful how touch starved you were after just a few days of not being with Aaron.

  “I’m not sure whether or not I’m busy tonight,” you admitted, maybe speaking a little too loudly in the direction of the listening devices, just in case Aaron was listening in. 

  Chris gave you a knowing smirk. “Oh, are you waiting to hear from your secret lover?”

  “Okay, don’t use the word ‘lover’ again,” you groaned. “And what makes you think that it was anything more than a one night stand?”

  “Because when you’re not actively texting, you’ve been checking your phone every 20 minutes.”

  Your face turned red as you sunk into your seat, trying and failing to hide yourself. Maybe if you willed it hard enough, the ground would open up and swallow you whole, just to save you from the embarrassment. You hadn’t realized you were checking your phone so often, but you also didn’t doubt it. 

  “Fine,” you grumbled, deciding that coming clean to your friends was going to be much easier than having to deal with them bringing it up at every moment possible. Besides, you didn’t have to give them all the details. “I will tell everybody all about him, but later . Not now.”

  Chris smirked as he leaned back in his chair, obviously proud of himself. You turned back to your work, mindlessly doing edits as you came up with a cover story in your head.

  Ran into an old friend, you could say. We got drinks, and then one thing led to another. That could work, except you came to the realization that you didn’t have any photos of Aaron, which would be suspicious if he was an old friend. You would have to look him up, which you were sure would just lead to a slew of FBI ID photos and news articles, which would mean that they’d just do some major googling of their own. You had avoided looking up Aaron, maybe in fear of what fucked up cases he had been involved in, but your friends would not hesitate.

  You could come up with something so ridiculous that they would just laugh about it. Yeah, I got a sugar daddy and he made me sign a nondisclosure agreement, sorry! You giggled to yourself just thinking about it. Aaron would probably be mortified at the thought. Although, he did wear a Rolex, so you guessed that anything was possible.

  “Holy shit, Y/N,” Chris mumbled, and you just gave a lazy hum as a reply, not really paying attention. “The FBI is here.”

  Your head snapped up at that . You whipped your head around so that you could face the entrance, and sure enough, the entire BAU team was walking in like they owned the place, with Aaron in the lead. They all had their FBI vests on, a sight which was way more attractive than it should have been. JJ and Reid stayed at the entrance to make sure nobody got out.

  “Everybody, please stay calm,” JJ called out, putting her hands up non threateningly. “Everything is okay, but we need you all to stay sitting exactly where you are.”

  A commotion came from the conference room and against your better judgment, you turned your head to watch what was going on. It wasn’t just one person getting arrested, it was every partner. You watched as Aaron spun Julian DuPont around by the wrist and pushed his face down on the conference table and oh, the FBI vest was nothing compared to watching Aaron arrest somebody.

  If anybody asked you if you got turned on during an FBI raid, you would vehemently deny it, but watching Aaron take out his handcuffs made your mind flash back to all those times you were in that same position, cuffed and bent over, completely at Aaron’s mercy. 

  Just as quickly as they came in, the BAU made their arrests and made their way back out. As Aaron passed your desk, his eyes met yours for a brief second and the corner of his mouth quirked up smugly. It was so subtle and quick that even you barely caught it, but you knew that look.

  At least you weren’t the only one in this situation with your mind in the gutter.

  Once the rest of the BAU was out of the building, JJ and Reid started the process of getting everybody else out of the office so that CSI could come in and finish looking around. When you passed by them, both agents greeted you with a warm smile, like the three of you were old friends.

  “Y/N, we’re going to need to get your statement before you go home,” Reid told you as you walked by, and you just nodded in confirmation.

  Once you got outside, you were immediately greeted by some agent named Anderson. He needed to get your statement on the work you did with the team, and you quickly gave him the PG version of the story. Your mind, however, was more focused on finding Aaron, who you knew had to be somewhere in the crowd. God, how long did it take to write down a simple statement?

  “I’ll take it from here, Anderson. Thank you.” 

  Aaron’s voice sent shivers down your spine and you spun around to look at him. You brought your bottom lip in between your teeth. “Nice arrest, although I’m surprised. Mr. DuPont doesn’t even drive himself to work, I can’t imagine him waiting out to kill somebody.”

  “That’s because he hired hitmen,” Aaron explained. “The victims were all bribing judges to get their cases dismissed, and all of those dismissed cases looked really bad for his prosecuting record.”

  You shrugged, placing your hands on his hips. “Probably not as bad as prison, though.”

  That actually got a laugh out of Aaron, but he quickly composed himself as another agent walked past the two of you. “Yeah, he’s not going to be practicing law ever again.” 

  You opened your mouth to say something - maybe to invite him over? You weren’t totally sure - when one of the CSI’s came over to ask Aaron something.

  Aaron waved him off, telling him that he would be there in a moment, before turning back to you. “My house will be empty all weekend,” he whispered, looking around to make sure nobody was watching. “Pack a bag, come over.”

  Before you could even answer him, Aaron had already taken off. You made your way towards the metro so that you could run home before heading to Aaron’s. You had to fight the smile that was growing on your face when Aaron mentioned packing a bag. Not only was it an unspoken promise of a weekend full of sex, it also meant that he was planning on making room for you to keep some of your stuff at his house. The two of you were quickly falling back into your old routines, and it was weirdly comforting.

  When you got to your house, you made a split second decision to change out of your work clothes into a more casual outfit, although it didn’t matter much what you were wearing. It’s not like it was going to stay on for very long. As you packed your bag, you ordered an Uber, knowing it would get you to Aaron’s place faster than the metro. 

  Sure, you were a little impatient, but it had been so long since you had spent the night at Aaron’s place. It always intrigued you how different it was at his house than it was at yours. You were just staying in a shoebox apartment while you were in college - something liveable and temporary until after you graduated and got a job where you could put actual roots down. Your decor was fairly minimum, an assortment of knick-knacks and photos of your friends.

  Aaron’s place was different. It was a certifiable, adult house with framed art and random decorative bowls scattered around. All of his kitchenware was a part of a matching set and his living room looked like all the pieces were picked out by an interior designer. In a weird way, being at Aaron’s house gave you a glimpse of the life you could have in just a few years. Sometimes, it was easy to imagine that you were a part of his world.

  You couldn’t think like that, though. Especially not when he greeted you at his door with an eager kiss, pulling you in so that you were pressed against him.

  “I’m going to use this entire weekend,” Aaron mumbled against your lips in between kisses. His hands slid up your sides, pulling your shirt off almost immediately. “To thoroughly and completely ruin you, until you can only say my name.” 

  Your fingers tangled in his hair as you smiled into the kiss, your fingers already working on the buttons of his shirt. A soft moan escaped your lips, which only encouraged him to deepen the kiss.

  The two of you stumbled towards Aaron’s bedroom, only detaching your lips when absolutely necessary and leaving a trail of clothes behind you. You needed to be naked, to feel your bare skin pressed against his. His hands were impossibly everywhere all at once - running up your thighs, cupping your breasts, and gripping your hips so hard that it was bound to leave bruises. Your body burned everywhere he touched and soon all you could think about was him and how badly you wanted him to touch you where it mattered.

  Once you got to his bedroom, Aaron pressed you against the wall. You tried to grind against him, but he moved one of his hands onto your hips so that he could hold you in place. His lips moved from your mouth to your neck, sucking just enough to make your back arch. “You have no idea how often I thought of you this week. How hard it was to listen to you and not think about how you sound when you’re begging for me. How badly I needed you.”

  Your nail scratched down his back lightly, just enough to elicit a soft hiss from him. “Desperation is unbecoming on you, Aaron,” you teased, knowing that would get a reaction out of him.

  It worked. One of his hands stayed on your hip, pressing you firmly against the wall, while his other hand tangled itself in your hair, pulling your head back so that your face was lifted up towards him. He kept you at an arm's distance as his eyes raked your body up and down hungrily.

  “I’m desperate?” he said scornfully. “Coming from the girl who is so needy that she couldn’t stay away from her phone for more than a few minutes, just waiting for me to want you. I could have called you at any time, and you would have dropped everything just to let me use you, isn’t that right? You’d let me do anything to you, just like the filthy slut you are.”

  You visibility gulped at his statement but you nodded obediently, which earned you a sharp tug of your hair.

  “Yes, Aaron, fuck ,” you gasped out. “I would have let you do anything at any time, just please…”

  Aaron gave you a predatory grin as the hand on your hip slowly made its way up your stomach until it cupped your right breast, thumbing lightly over your nipple. It wasn’t enough to get any real pleasure, but it made you moan all the same.

   “You did such a good job this week,” he murmured, looking at you almost worshipfully like he wanted to commit you to memory.  “I was going to give you whatever you wanted tonight. But maybe that would make me too desperate .”

  You tried to wiggle out of his grasp, but it was no use. “I- I-” you stuttered out. You couldn’t think straight.

  “I- I-,” Aaron mocked. “I thought you were a lot more intelligent than that. Come on, Y/N, whatever you want. Use your words. Unless pleasure’s turned you into a stupid whore.” He punctuated the last word with a light spank to your clit, which made you cry out and your legs instinctively try to close.

  “I want you to use your mouth,” you begged, arching your back in a pitiful attempt to create some form of contact. Your shoulders pressed against the wall was the only thing keeping you upright.

  “Where?” he asked all too casually.

  Your breathing was still shaky at best, but you forced yourself to make eye contact with Aaron. He looked back at you expectantly, waiting patiently for your answer.

  You slowly raised your hand to point to your left breast, which so far had been woefully ignored. “Here,” you said hesitantly, not sure whether or not he was going to tease you. While Aaron always gave you what you asked for eventually, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t make you beg for it first.

  To his credit, however, Aaron immediately bent down and attached his mouth to your nipple, his teeth gently scraping over the sensitive flesh. His eyes never left yours, he wanted to watch your reaction. 

  Feeling more confident, you cupped the sides of his face and pulled him off you, and the sound it made was obscene. “I want you to eat me out,” you whispered, blushing as you said it. “I want to feel myself cum on your face, please .”

  Aaron smirked as he slid down to his knees, kissing all the way down your stomach. “Good girl, you asked so nicely,” he mumbled against your skin and it sent shivers up your spine. He hooked one of your legs over his shoulder, giving him a perfect few of your pussy, slick with your arousal. “Look at you, dripping down your thighs before I’ve even started. Desperation is unbecoming on you, Y/N,” he mocked. He was using your words against you, and you didn’t even care. You just wanted him to do something, anything.

  Aaron ran a finger through your folds, ghosting over your clit. You hips bucked, desperate for more contact, but his finger was already gone. “Look at me,” he ordered, and as soon as you did, you were greeted with the image of Aaron admiring the wetness that was covering his finger. Then he stuck the finger in his mouth, smirking as he did, and you moaned out at the sight. “You taste so good, Y/N.”

  “Please, Aaron, I need you to- oh! ” you begged, but you were cut off by Aaron licking a strip up your center, still avoiding your clit.

  His hands came around and grabbed onto your ass as he got to work, lapping through your folds. You tangled your hands in his hair, rocking your hips against his mouth, craving more . His tongue teased at your clit, humming every once in a while in a way that sent vibrations throughout you. Without warning, he pushed two fingers into you curling them in just the right spot.

  As Aaron’s fingers pumped in and out of you, his lips focused solely on your clit. He flicked it once with his tongue before sucking, relishing in the way you moaned out his name. You tightened your grip in Aaron’s hair as your first orgasm hit you, your whole body shaking and a string of expletives leaving your mouth. But that didn’t stop Aaron.

  He added a third finger and replaced his mouth with his thumb on your clit. “You’re going to give me another one,” he practically growled. “And then I’m going to fuck you until you’re a whining mess. This is what you asked for isn’t it?”

  When you didn’t answer right away, he turned his head to the side and bit down on the sensitive flesh of your inner thigh, causing you to cry out. He sucked on that same spot for a little before dragging his tongue over the newly formed bruise.

  “Yes, I want that, Aaron,” you cried out. “I want you .”

  He reattached his lips to your folds with newfound vigor, making tight circles around your clit. His free hand snaked up your sides to your breast, pinching and twisting at your nipple. You continued to beg, although you weren’t sure what you were begging for exactly. All you knew was that you were so full of want , want for your second orgasm, and want for Aaron.

  Aaron fucked you with his fingers with ease, as if he had all the time in the world. You ground down on him again, chasing your orgasm the best you could. Your eyes were squeezed shut in pleasure, but you needed more. You opened your eyes, only to be met with Aaron’s blown pupils, eyes full of desire. You could almost feel his smirk as he wrapped his lips around your clit and pulled .

  The heel of your foot dug into his back as you cried out, your second orgasm twice as intense as your first one. Aaron’s fingers kept pumping into you lazily, and even your panting couldn’t cover the filthy sounds it was making. You could feel yourself dripping down your thighs.

  Aaron slowly removed his fingers from you and lightly swiped them over your clit once more as he stood up, which almost made you completely lose your balance, a sob tearing from your mouth.

  He held his glistening fingers in front of your mouth and you opened obediently, moaning as you tasted yourself on him. Your tongue swirled around his fingers, making sure to clean every trace of you off him.

  Aaron removed his fingers from your mouth. “Do you have one more in you?” he asked, and it was softer than you were used to. “It’s okay if you don’t. We have all weekend.”

  “I need your dick in me,” you said in lieu of an answer. “Please, please fuck me.”

  Aaron pulled you to his bed and you all but collapsed onto your back, your legs still shaking from your back to back orgasms. Aaron crawled on top of you, leaving a trail of kisses in his wake, all the way from your stomach to your mouth.

  “You’re so beautiful when you come for me,” he whispered, teasing your entrance with the head of his cock. All of his movements were gentle, bordering on caring. “Yelling out my name so that everybody can hear that you’re mine .”

  He pressed into you slowly, his first few thrusts shallow, and you could see that it was taking all of his willpower to keep teasing you like this. You dragged your nails down his back, not caring if it left marks on him.

  “Aaron,” you whimpered, bucking your hips to try and get more movement. “Please fuck me. I need more.”

  Aaron was always good at giving you what you wanted.

  His hips snapped into you harshly, and you had to attach your lips to his shoulder to keep from screaming out. Aaron thrusted into you hard and fast, wanting to feel every inch of you. He stretched you in all the best ways and your back arched off the bed. You were holding on to Aaron like a lifeline, and all he could do was grunt out your name over and over, repeating it like a prayer. 

  Your third orgasm came fast, spreading through your body like a wildfire, and you could feel the tears prick at the corners of your eyes at the overstimulation. Aaron’s thrusts became more desperate and harsher as he felt you squeeze around him. He dropped his head to your shoulder, his breathing ragged and you could tell that he was so close-

  “Cum for me… Fill me up,” you purred into Aaron’s ear, and that’s all it took for him to finish, holding himself deep inside you as his warmth filled you. The two of you stayed like that for a moment, both trying to catch your breath. You brought your head up to kiss Aaron, slowly and deliberately and filled with… something . You couldn’t figure out what it was yet.

  Aaron pulled out of you slowly and flopped onto the bed next to you, but he reached over and held your hand. The two of you laid like that for several moments, giving yourselves time to come back down to reality. Finally, Aaron rolled on his side to check on you. You admired the flush on his body, especially as it rose to his cheeks and made him look like he was practically glowing.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, his thumb rubbing lazy circles on your hand. “Can I do anything?” 

  You turned your head to smile at him, giving his hand a squeeze, before sitting up. Aaron was always so careful about aftercare, which you were immensely appreciative of. “Oh, I’m fine, I’m just going to go to the bathroom. A UTI might ruin the mood,” you joked.

  When you returned, Aaron was already in a pair of pajama pants and sitting in bed. He had also laid out one of his shirts for you, which caused your stomach to do flips. Despite the fact that you actually did pack pajamas, you chose to wear his shirt. You could feel his eyes watching your every movement as you made your way back into bed, leaning back against the headboard.

  Aaron placed an arm around your shoulders and you leaned into him, catching his lips in another kiss, this one soft and sensual. You placed your hand on his bare chest as the kiss deepened, and Aaron’s fingers ghosting over your skin sent shivers down your spine.

  “So,” you murmured against his lips. “What are your plans for me this weekend?” It was partially a joke, but you wanted to be as prepared as possible for just how sore you were going to be on Monday after an entire three days of being thoroughly wrecked by Aaron.

  Aaron’s lips curved up into a smile as he dropped a kiss on the top of your head, letting his lips linger for just a second too long. “Hm, we can play it by ear. Although, I was thinking Indian for dinner tomorrow night?”

  You were too old to get butterflies, but there was something so soft and so sincere in his reply that it made your stomach do flips. Aaron yawned, probably not even giving a second thought to his reply, and pulled you in closer to him. 

  “Yeah,” you conceded, closing your eyes. “Indian sounds good.” You could deal with the butterflies later.

#criminal minds #aaron hotchner #criminal minds fanfiction #criminal minds fanfic #aaron hotchner fanfiction #aaron hotchner x reader #my best habit #my writing

[nvvermore]

Entr’acte

For the second time, Amaryllis drops everything and steps away from their comfort zone when Beatrice needs a teacher, this time with a very different group of students [@juliandev0rak]

words: 2108

cw: none

—

“What do you think about maybe visiting the school? Maybe… teaching some music lessons?”

“You want me to teach your kids?”

“Well, I’m not asking for you to come to teach full time or anything, but,”

“I’m not very good with children.”

“If you managed to teach me, you’ll have no problem with them!”

“Beatrice.”

“I’m joking! They’re really wonderfully behaved children, I promise. Besides, how bad can you really be if you’re friends with Lucio?”

“You’ve made a good point,” Amaryllis laughs. “What exactly would I teach them? I doubt they need professional-level vocal instruction.”

“You know music! You can sing and play the piano, and probably other instruments too-“

“Guitar. And violin, but only a little.”

“See! You could teach them all about notes, how to play nursery rhymes. It’s mostly about giving them something fun to do, like art class or recess.”

“So you do want me to come in on a regular basis?”

“Well, if you’re a good fit I wouldn’t mind it…”

“Alright then. I’ll come teach.”

“Really?” In her excitement, Beatrice throws her arms around Amaryllis’s neck in a crushing hug. “Oh thank you, Amie!” They return it after a moment, arms wrapping around her middle. When they part, there’s the loveliest pink flush to her cheeks, their faces only inches apart. Reluctantly, Amaryllis breaks away from her embrace.

“I am a little busy with the masquerade approaching, but I can make time.”

“Tomorrow?” Beatrice suggests quickly.

“Tomorrow, hm? You don’t already have lesson plans for the day?”

“Ah, well-“

“You knew I’d say yes.”

“I was right.”

- - -

And that was how Amaryllis ended at the old coliseum turned schoolhouse, with carefully crafted lesson plans in hand. They had even gone out of their way to dress in the most modest and brightest dress they had in their wardrobe, along with simple pumps and opaque tights.

Once Amaryllis was standing before the doors, dressed in spring green, the gravity of how fully head-over-heels they had fallen for Beatrice dawned on them. In their right, not lovesick mind, they would never willingly venture out in such a manner. They’d even completely forgone their veil for the afternoon— it was hardly necessary to do so, but Amaryllis was dead set on being a good example.

On the other side of the doors, it seemed Beatrice had been waiting for them. Seated on a nearby bench with her nose in a book, it was the same way she’d often wait for them before their lessons together. There was nothing out of the ordinary or new about the sight of her, but Amaryllis still found themself stopping to take her in. Leaning against the wall, they watched the way her lips moved as she read, how focused she was as her eyes flit across the pages.

Soon enough, the moment passes when Beatrice finally takes note of them.“Amie!” she jumps into her feet, and Amaryllis notices the way her expression drops into surprise for a split-second. Then, she proceeds to unabashedly look them up and down, grin returning to her lips when her eyes meet theirs. “You have perfect timing! The children should be just getting back from recess. Come, I’ll show you around.”

Without warning, Beatrice takes their hand, and Amaryllis has to stop themself from giving into the urge to intertwine their fingers with hers.

Beatrice leads them through the halls, enthusiastically pointing out various classrooms and other school facilities. She tells them all about what she’s already been able to do with the school and her goals for the future. Amaryllis drinks up every word, and the passion she has for her students makes them fall a little bit more in love with her.

They make a mental note to see to it that a little bit more of their salary is directed to the school— discreetly through Nadia, lumped in with what she already uses to fund Vesuvia’s public education.

“And this is my classroom!” Beatrice pulls them into a room with rows of little desks decorated in little messes of papers and books. Amaryllis looks around the modest room, in awe at all the carefully-crafted decor she had put up all over the walls. Posters and signs that must have taken her hours and hours to make.

There was the common alphabet drawn out all the way across the front wall above the chalkboard. Large and colorful drawings acting as helpful reminders of numbers, shapes, days of the week, and months of the year. Not all of it was purely educational; messages of inspiration were all over, encouragement just a glance away for any child who needed it. Even each desk had a carefully handwritten tag spelling out each child's first and last name.

Amaryllis realizes they must have looked around the room a little too long, because when they glance back to Beatrice, she’s fiddling with her the clasp of her cloak. The instinct to assure her overcomes them, and they reach out and place their hands over hers

“Beatrice, this is lovely. I can tell you truly love your work.”

She looks hesitant for a moment, as though she might brush the complement off, but smiles after a moment. “Thank you, Amie. I really do love it.”

Amaryllis quickly squeezes her hands before taking them back. “I hope I can meet your high standards.”

“If I had any doubts, I wouldn’t have asked you,” she opens her mouth like she has more to say, but then tiny voices and giggles sound from the hallway. Something in her composure shifts then, and in a second she goes from their Beatrice to the student’s Beatrice.

Greeting each child with a warm smile as they file into the room, not an ounce of hesitance or nervousness. Amaryllis can’t take their eyes off of her, wants to take in all of her radiance that comes with her moments of total confidence. That beautiful smile of hers is then turned on them, and class is ready to begin.

“Settle in everyone! This afternoon we have a very special guest!” Beatrice addresses the class animatedly. She steps back, gesturing for Amaryllis to step up. It almost feels like they’ve somehow switched places with each other; Beatrice has all of the certainty and Amaryllis is full of worry. But they would do this, and do it well, for her, and for these children.

“Hello, you can call me Amie,” they introduce themself with the nickname instead, as their name could be difficult to pronounce for ones so young. “Together, we’re going to learn all about music!” Amaryllis glances to Beatrice, who watches them with a soft expression, and in turn she gives an encouraging nod. “For today’s lesson, I’m going to show you how to write your very own song!”

- - -

The lesson had run wonderfully, much to Amaryllis’s surprise. The class was a modestly-sized one, and all in attendance were very eager to learn. They’d begun with the very basics of treble clef, explaining the lettering and telling them the silly acronyms to assist in remembering. As the children demonstrated they were catching on to their teachings, Amaryllis shed their hesitance.

In the end, they were able to assist each student in writing out their own little two-measure song. None of them really knew they were writing, but Amaryllis could hear each little song as they went over it with Beatrice’s students. Some of them put the same note down eight times, some of them followed the alphabet, some of them randomly placed notes on the staff. It was sweet, to see each child’s method of creating.

Amaryllis’s plan was for Beatrice to hold on to what they’d written, because next time they would teach them how to sing their songs. Each child was already so proud of what they’d accomplished, and Amaryllis was truly looking forward to showing them how it sounded.

Once their lesson was concluded, it was time to wrap up for the day. Amaryllis stood back once again to let Beatrice take back over, and meanwhile they made themself at home in her desk chair. When the students finally were dismissed, Amaryllis did not expect for several of them to flock around them.

One little girl told them how pretty their hair was; another told them that he thought their scar was so cool. A little boy explained very thoroughly that he’d been taking piano lessons since he was very little. It took a few more minutes of questioning and stories and several promises that they would return next week for everyone to clear out.

Beatrice saw the last little straggler out of the door and closed it behind her. “‘Bad with children’, hm?” She was beaming again, surely pleased to have something to call them on.

“I may have lied,” Amaryllis admits. Beatrice raises a brow in questioning, settling down onto her desk in front of them. “It’s just, I don’t tend to be the best influence.”

“Amie, that’s not true,” she reaches forward to take their hand, “you were just actively being a positive influence for the past two hours.”

“I tried my very best, abeille.” ‘I tried my very best for you’, goes unsaid.

“I think you did wonderful! Even I learned things I didn’t know before.”

“Then I must not be doing enough in our private lessons.”

“That’s not what I meant!”

“I know, I’m simply teasing you.” Amaryllis rests their clasped hands against Beatrice’s knee. She isn’t sitting as ‘lady-like’ as she typically tends to, her legs remain uncrossed and knees apart. Her long skirts cover her all the way down to the ankle, perfectly decent, though Amaryllis’s thoughts about their current positions are anything but. Slipping their hands under said skirts, the feel of her skin under their fingers as they push the fabric up and— now was not the time or place to fantasize about her.

“You know, I meant to say,” she glances away when Amaryllis’s eyes meet hers, cheeks rosy. “You look, different.”

“I know, it’s atrocious, isn’t it?”

“Absolutely not!” Beatrice bites her lip, before continuing. “I think you look just as lovely like this,” she rushes to add, “and it’s nice to see your face. Outside of the rehearsal room. In public. That probably sounds a little odd-“

Amaryllis’s breath falters. “It doesn’t.”

“Oh, good, then.” Beatrice’s free hand picks at the surface of the desk. “Then is there a reason you didn’t wear your veil today? I’ve noticed you don’t usually go anywhere outside the palace without it.”

“It’s part of my effort to not be a poor influence,” they explain. “Little ones are so impressionable, it wouldn’t do to cover up like I’m ashamed.”

“Are you?” she blurts out, looking instantly regretful. Amaryllis doesn’t talk about these things, they never do. But with Beatrice, they feel safe enough to forgo many of their masks.

“Rationally, I know there isn’t anything to be ashamed about. But it’s,” they take a deep breath, “difficult when someone once put in a lot of effort into making you think that way. You never know who else will treat you that same way. So, I prefer to have a shield.”

“You’ve never worn it when it was just us.”

“Because I know you’d never make me feel ashamed.”

“Amie, I—“ Beatrice is cut off by a knock on the door that makes them both jump. She releases their hand, sliding off of the desk to let the interloper in. Simply a concerned parent who’s come to speak with his child’s teacher. Amaryllis takes it as their cue to excuse themself.

“I’m quite busy with preparations, so I’m afraid I might not see you again until the masquerade.”

“It’s only a few days away, and I’ll be sure to practice extra hard in place of our missed lesson.”

“Not too hard. We don’t want a repeat of the last time you strained yourself.” Though truthfully, Amaryllis wouldn’t mind bringing her tea again, or taking care of her, settling on her comfy little couch to snuggle up.

Beatrice throws her hands up dramatically. “I won’t practice that much, I promise!”

“Good girl,” they take her hand, relishing in her flustered face, “until we meet again.” Amaryllis places a kiss on the back of her hand, leaving behind a deep red stain. With a respectful nod to the waiting father, they step back out into the hall.

Normally, Amaryllis loved work. It kept them busy, kept them distracted. But they were already distracted by something other than work, and they had a feeling the next few days would be agonizing without a moment of Beatrice’s company.

#no sleep for me so i am here #i cant forget about beamie either #amaryllis leroux #beatrice viano #beamie #amie fic #my fic #i feel like i have so few tags but i do not like tagging things so its ok

[your-highnessmarvel]

OMG Ellen You Didn’t!

Requested by Anonymous: Absolutely, so Chris x reader met at an industry party, she’s a newbie, he’s smitten when he first lays eyes on her dark chocolate skin.She a fan but she’s hesitant, she doesn’t know if he’s as cool as he seems. He approaches her, they hang out, she opens up about her past struggle with anxiety &he’s there for her &helps her navigate the craziness of the industry. Their friendship develops into a relationship, Chris falls hard for the one person he thought he’d never find...her, his future wife.

AN: THIS IS THE TYPE OF SPECIFIC I ABSOLUTELY LOVE UGH YAS. I made this comedic because i’ve been writing fluff and angst all day and my pretty poor heart hurts lol. i’ve struggled with anxiety my whole life without knowing, and when i finally put a word on it, it’s like i finally came to terms with who i was. to whoever suffers anxiety, past or present, my blog is a safe zone and so are my messages.

Warnings: angst, mentions of anxiety

*gif not mine

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MASTERLIST

Ellen gives a hug to Chris and they share a knowing laugh. She shakes your hand because she sees how nervous you are; what with the applauding audience and the screaming women. 

Wow, you think, this is what it’s like being famous. Or more, being married to a famous guy.

Ellen encourages you both to sit. “Chris, so good to have you back,” she says. 

Chris smiles, devilishly handsome as always. “Always good to be here, Ellen.”

“And Y/N, welcome to the show.”

You smile nervously, thankful for your sleeveless top for airing out your armpits. “Thank you for having me.”

Ellen smiles, crosses her leg over her knee, settles in. You take it as a cue to lean back into the couch, and Chris puts his arm comfortably behind you. From afar, it looks like regular couple stuff. But you know Chris is doing it for you; to make you feel safe with him, to let you know he is there. It is your first TV interview after all. 

“So, it’s my understanding that Chris was the one running after you, Y/N?” Ellen asks. The audience laughs, and Chris gives you that puppy dog stare that makes your tummy fill with hot butterflies.

“Yeah he was like... head over heels for me.” You laugh when Ellen gives Chris a look. 

“I mean,” Chris says, “look at her. How could I not?”

“What did he even do?” Ellen asks with a devilish smirk.

~~~ 

You wade your way through the crowd of faces, nervously biting the inside of your cheek. This party - this party with Hollywood figures - was filled with faces you’d seen on the Oscars stage as well as on the big screen. Your mind was going half a mile an hour and every time someone addressed a word to you, you’d stammer. 

So you opted for staying on your own to avoid any more social suicide. You took a half full bottle of tequila and all but ran into a corner where there was a love seat and a perfect view of downtown New York. You sat with a relieved sigh, readjusting your top. 

One more thing about Hollywood; everyone dressing fucking fancy for hella casual evenings. Like, this was a lowkey chilling that you were at, which you’d been invited by your staff team leader on the movie you were working on. Chilling means casual, right? Boy oh boy. Leonardo DiCaprio was wearing a full tux over there, hanging with his girl in a hot red dress. 

You scratched the inside of your elbow nervously. You had opted for an over-sized sweater and leggings with fuzzy socks. Even the butler was dressed better than you were. 

Ugh, you thought, I should have stayed home, but no, I wanted to get to know some celebs. Idiot. 

You could feel the judgment from some people, but most of them treated you as if you were a fly on the wall. 

You took a swing of the bottle, wincing because who the fuck can drink straight up tequila and remain stoic? Psychopaths. 

A shadow glided over the floor in front of you, catching your attention, and you looked up midway through your grimace.

And almost spat the tequila right back up. 

It was motherfucking Chris Evans. Of all the dorks that could have stood before you, holding his Stella Artoise and staring out the window like a Dad, it was good old Chris E.

“Wow.”

You hadn’t meant for that to come out. It was more an interior dialogue. Had you drank that much already?

Chris turned to you with a smirk, showing off broad shoulders under a nice crimson suit. “Tequila don’t go down easy, huh?”

“It’s more like my pride.”

He snorted. “Don’t mind the people judging you for your sweater,” he said, giving you a wink. “I find it rather cute. And rather refreshing. I get invited to these things, and I always think someone’s gonna wake up and realize we could be in our pijamas. But pictures for instagram and whatnot get taken here. We have to look our best.”

You looked up, mystified by the man. He was staring back unabashedly, and maybe because he was a little tipsy and that’s why his inhibitions flew right out the fucking window. But his cheeks were pink. His eyes were so blue, and he dragged them along any inch of exposed skin he could find. All while remaining the most respectable man. 

“You look - uh - good,” you said. Then you frowned, shook your head. What the hell kinda thing is that to say?

He chuckled. “Thank you.” Then he plopped right down next to you. “I find you look absolutely ravishing.”

Your cheeks became so hot you thought they’d peel right off. “Okay.”

His eyes went wide just as you all but slapped your forehead. “Man, I’m so dumb,” you groaned, feeling the heat crawl down your neck and chest. “I meant thank you, obviously. It’s just... like wow, you’re Chris Evans and you’re wearing a blood red suit and your hair looks so soft!”

He threw his head back and laughed, exposing pale flesh at the neck. “Can I say something too?”

“Yeah.”

“Your skin is breathtaking.” Then his eyes went serious, looking at you as if he was trying to open the doors to your mind. “May I?” he asked, pointer finger hovering over the chocolate flesh of your wrist. 

Oh my God! Chris was going to touch you!

“Y-yeah.”

He pressed two fingers along your wrist, caressing the skin. “I saw you walk in,” he admitted. “And I just - when I saw you with your sweater and skin the color of coffee and hair in braids and eyes so bright. I thought... I’m sorry, am I being too much?” His serious tone quickly turned concerned. 

You hadn’t noticed you were staring, mouth agape, heart beating like dad’s when they hammer a stubborn nail. “No, it’s fine,” you stammered. 

He licked his lips before continuing. “I thought you were the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.”

Wow, okay, he was drunk. Surely he’d seen Margot Robbie and Ana de Armas and every single other Hollywood actress. 

“If you say okay, I’m going to cry.”

You laughed, his fingers still skimming the skin of your wrist. “Thank you, Chris.”

He smiled, eyes crinkling. “I want to be your friend,” he stated, fishing out his phone. “Is it alright if I ask for your number, and we can go grab coffee or walk my dog together sometime?”

His dog. It was an automatic, “Yes.”

~~~

“So, if I understand correctly, Chris was totally smitten by you?”

“Oh, Ellen,” you answer with an exaggerated tone, “he was already planning the wedding.”

“Oh!” Chris left-boob-grabs and throws his head back in laughter. “She was the one staring at me with googly eyes!”

“Yeah, right!”

“And, what?” Ellen continues to pry. “Right away, you both fell in love?”

“Well,” Chris says, smoothing his beard in thought. “We started by trying to be friends, as these things go, you know. Make sure we’re compatible. But it was clear, like, oh, right away that she was meant for me.”

You rolled your eyes. “Wow, Chris, so poetic.”

~~~

You stuffed your mouth with the doughnut, giving Dodger smiles and pats on the head as you walked beside him. You looked up at Chris, giving him also a cute smile.

“Never met anyone who actively eats strawberry-stuffed white-powdered doughnuts,” he said. It was cold outside and grey, what with is raining all weekend, so Chris wore a big blue hoodie and trousers, looking warm and cozy.

“That’s because you’ve never met anyone like me,” you answered. You tightened the scarf around your neck. 

“That’s damn right.”

This was your third date with Chris, and you still had trouble making thoughts into proper phrases. First date had gone swimmingly because Chris was a sweetheart who knew exactly how to make someone comfortable. He’d brought you to the aquarium, and he’d displayed subtle but intricate knowledge on puffer fish. Second date, he’d brought you to watch a local baseball game and then he bought you ice cream, which sealed the deal because a man who buys you ice cream is a man you want to keep. 

And now, walking with Dodger after you’d made the drive all the way to Chris’s house. You’d waited outside, feeling like an impostor standing before Chris Evans’s front fucking door with your wool sweater and scarf and mittens. 

“What say you to a tour of my grand home afterwards?” he asked now, giving you a side glance. 

You were holding Dodger’s leash, and you were watching him waddle beside you like a good boy. When Chris proposed that, your cheeks went white hot. “Um, yeah, that sounds good,” you said, swallowing thickly. 

“You don’t have to come in,” he said. “I just got a new deck of cards I want to try out.”

Chris’s house was huge. Inside, there was a lot of sunlight from the immense windows. A lot of airy spaces for lounging, eating, exercising. He was careful in avoiding his bedroom, giving you a tour with his hands inside his trouser pockets. He showed you where Dodger likes to sleep; the head of the couch, by the backdoor window where the sun cooks him, and on his doggy bed that is settled in Chris’s office. 

“He snores,” Chris said as he directed you to the kitchen. “And he dreams all the time.”

“Like father like son, huh.” 

“I don’t think I snore.”

You winked, the first time you’d ever been cocky and confident in front of him. “We’ll see.”

He brushed a hand through his hair, laughing. He reached into a cupboard and took out a card game. “Ever played Brisc?” he asked. 

“No.”

“Then sit.” He sat at the table, encouraging you to sit directly in front of him. He explained the game to you very simply, and you tried your best to memorize all the rules. “How are you taking it in the industry,” he asked, seemingly absentminded. 

You looked up in surprise. Had he been asking about you? How did he know you were very new in the show business? “I’m doing... okay?”

“I used to have nightmares about it when I was younger?”

“Nightmares?” 

He won the first round. 

“Yeah, and panic attacks before going to auditions or premiers,” he continued, giving you shy half smiles. “I’ve been in this business quite a while to know that the demands are incredibly high. And especially for women.”

You bit your lip, holding your cards against your chest. Hesitantly, you put one down. Was it okay for you to unpack everything onto him? Was it okay to tell him how bad your anxiety had gotten to you in the past and how it still got to you? This was a big A-list celebrity with paparazzi waiting for him on every corner so much so that he had to wear sunglasses and caps wherever he went. 

“It’s just so demanding,” you sighed. “It’s just status, and higher ups, and big names, and they all feel like they have the right to tell me what to do and how to do my job correctly. The bar is set so high. There is no room for mistakes, and if you make just one false move, they look at you like you killed a puppy.”

Chris nodded understandingly. “It’s so hard to navigate this industry,” he answered. “And it’s because they call it business and not personal, but some things, they just... ah, they just feel real personal, don’t they?”

You huffed. “My anxiety used to be through the roof,” you went on. “It still is. Sometimes, I have no idea how to calm the wave that comes through my chest.”

Chris reaches across the vast expanse of wood, palm up, eyes blue and open. “I can help you,” he said. “I know what it’s like to feel like you’re drowning. I can help you find resources and people to put on your personal team, to build a support. There’s no shame in reaching out.”

He was being so sincere that your chest tightened with a new emotion once unbeknownst to you. “Thank you,” you whispered sincerely. 

After the card game, Chris walked you to your car, hands in his pockets. Shy. Timid. 

“I really like our friendship,” he said. Your heart contracted, as if lead had been poured down into your arteries, and you smiled tightly. 

Friendship?

“Yeah.”

He hesitated, eyes searching your face, but you were looking down. He scuffed the toe of his boot on the gravel. “I don’t wanna be friends, though,” he mumbled.

As soon as the hurt had entered your system, it flew right the fuck out and you looked up expectantly. Eyes wide. Cheeks on fire. Heart hammering. “Me n-neither.”

He took a step forward, and your chin went up, keeping up with his impressive height. He put each palm on the side of your burning face. When he kissed you, his lips were hesitant and soft, careful and warm. The tip of his tongue on your bottom lip. You leaned into him, grasping his waist, heart hammering, thoughts reeling. 

He smelled so good.

His lips were so perfect, chapped yet warm and delicate. 

He pulled back slowly, resting his forehead on yours, laughing a little. “I feel like this is the start of something good,” he whispered. 

You smiled shyly, and he picked you up into his arms, pinning you to his chest, feet dangling off the ground

~~~

“That’s so sweet,” Ellen said. “You two are so sweet on twitter. The first picture you ever posted of Y/N was this.”

“Oh no,” you mumbled, quite to the audience’s laughter. 

A photo of you, one that Chris had taken from a film-type camera, appeared on the monitor. It was in the dead of night, at a park you and Chris had sneaked off to during a party. You were brightly illuminated by the flash of the camera. You wore a bright red hoodie, low jeans, and white shoes. Your left leg was brought up, showing the curve of your ass. Your tongue was sticking out, grimacing, and your hands were up in two peace signs. 

“He could have easily picked pictures of us on red carpet events when I actually look good, but no, he posted this absolute gem,” you laughed, feeling Chris squeezing your shoulder tenderly. 

“But she’s so gorgeous in this!” Chris defended. “She looks like herself, the girl I’m with every day.”

“Okay yes, but Y/N posted something much better,” Ellen said, pointing to the monitor.

Another picture of you, sitting behind Dodger, smiling all your pearly whites. Your skin was glowing, and you remembered feeling good about yourself that day. Dodger was being crazy, licking under your chin, and in the far, far corner of the picture, one could see half of Chris’s body. 

“And you posted that,” Ellen continued, “with the caption reading, “Love my Valentine so much. Chris, you are a wonder.”.” 

You burst out laughing with the audience, watching as Chris made a sarcastic face and shook his head. 

When the audience died down, Chris said, “No no, we joke a lot, but I love this woman so much. I mean, I married her for a reason. She’s my best friend, my lover, my confidant. I couldn’t imagine spending the rest of my life with anybody else.” 

You patted his knee, aware that if you full on kissed him, it would be all over social media. 

Ellen said something about what would happen after the break, but you were looking Chris in the eyes. Leaning into his shoulder, the world around you fell away, stripped, and it was just you and him. You and him against the world.

#chris evans #fic #fanfic #fanfiction #oneshot #imagine #fluff #angst #chris evans x reader #chris evans x you #chris evans x y/n #chris evans x yn

[gegenji]

Always Looking for RP - Chachanji Gegenji (Shadowbringers)

General Information ––––

NAME: Chachanji Gegenji NICKNAMES: Chachan, Chanchan, Chach, Chachi, Chan, Cha, Chanji, Bunchan, Chagenji, “Champion” Chachan, and Mallet Masher AGE: 19 RACE: Lalafell - Dunesfolk GENDER: Male SEXUALITY: Heterosexual MARITAL STATUS: Single SERVER: Balmung

Physical Appearance ––––

HAIR: Green with a snowy white patch. Frosting is not dye, but caused due to time spent in training and meditation in an area of highly positive-aspected aether. EYES: Violet, with a slight mirror-y sheen. Effect also caused by training mentioned above. HEIGHT: 2'10" BUILD: Short, stocky. General Lalafellin build but with broader shoulders, bulkier arms and legs, and a bit of visible muscle definition (though he often tries to hide it). Endomorphic musculature. DISTINGUISHING MARKS: Light dusting of freckles over cheeks and shoulders, burly physique, forehead stone with the family seal engraved in it. COMMON ACCESSORIES: Cactuar earring, his (very large) smithing hammer, a worn bokken, various small smithing tools, a pouch full of Yellow Drops, satchel of jerky, canteen of sweetwater.

Personal –––-

PROFESSION: Doman Blacksmith, Armorsmith, and Leatherworker. Seneschal of House Dentra (minor Ul’dahn noble house and smelting guild), Free Paladin of Ul'dah, and Samurai-in-Training. HOBBIES: Reading storybooks, chocobo riding, Triple Triad (both playing and just collecting cards) LANGUAGES: Eorzean, Doman/Hingan, little bit of sign language. RESIDENCE: Usagenji Ironworks (Goblet Ward 11, Plot 15)

Traits –––-

extroverted / introverted / in between disorganized / organized / in between close minded / open-minded / in between calm / anxious / in between disagreeable / agreeable / in between cautious / reckless / in between patient / impatient / in between outspoken / reserved / in between leader / follower / in between empathetic / unemphatic / in between optimistic / pessimistic / in between traditional / modern / in between hard-working / lazy / in between cultured / uncultured / in between loyal / disloyal / in between faithful / unfaithful / in between

Additional Information –––-

SMOKING HABIT: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess DRUGS: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess ALCOHOL: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess

Possible Hooks –––-

Highly Skilled Gegenji Smith - Member of the Gegenji family, which has some fame around Yanxia, Chachanji is extremely skilled at his craft. While he focuses mainly on crafting armor to protect others, he is also able to craft tools, perform all sorts of repairs and maintenance and - should he be properly swayed and convinced to do so - craft very powerful weaponry.

(It should be noted that due to his pacifistic nature, getting him to make or improve weaponry will require a high degree of trust with the individual.)

Seneschal of House Dentra - Through a strange rite of initiation, Chachanji is now the current head of a minor Ul’dahn noble house. House Dentra is most notable for also being the owner of a Smelting Guild, owning various facilities and mines scattered across Eorzea. They also help staff the satellite facility “Three Ingot Outlet” (named after the aforementioned initiation) that opens during the Sultana’s Breath Shopping Arcade.

Mr. Eorzea/”Champion” Chachan - Chachanji has been crowned the victor in two competitions - the Mr. Eorzea competition and the Grindstone. While he has only won each once, these victories somehow remain decently well known - likely due to how much it flusters him - with the latter in no small part due to the sweetwater and fruit juice drink named after him at the Quicksand. Despite this he still tends to pop by the Grindstone itself now and then as either a spectator or a participant for training purposes.

Free Paladin of Ul’dah - While he doesn’t directly work with the Sultansworn, Chachanji has been ordained a proper Free Paladin of Ul’dah by one Coatleque Crofte. He does often take up various levequests to help people under that title, and - more commonly - serves as a regular resource for the Sultansworn to have their regalia repaired and refitted. He also assists the Flames in a similar capacity, so anyone with connections with either group might have seen or heard of the little smith.

Source or First - Chachan is currently on the Source but I do have plans in mind for Chachan to end up stuck on the First thanks to the antics of a Pixie named Gria Gai - and possibly need of help and/or a way back home! When it happens is still up in the air (and probably can be shifted around if needed), but it does mean Chachan could potentially encountered in either Shard. And even if Chachan is still on the Source, he has a Reflection on the First that is still plenty available to be interacted with.

What I’m Looking for ––––

Friends - Chachan is always one to make new friends, even if they seem the sort that most might not give a fair shake to. From Garleans to half-voidsent, if you seem like a decent enough person, he’ll probably be willing to at least try!

Customers - As a skilled smith, it’s nice to actually have Chachan doing his job via RP rather than just saying he does. This extends from armorcraft to repair to possibly even serving a potential source of work at one of House Dentra’s facilities or mines.

Helping People - Chachan likes trying to help people out, so whether for one-shots or in longer arcs, getting to have the little guy help out someone in need would be pretty neat. Just lemme know what the general idea is and we can see if the floofy-haired dork can help out in it!

RP in General - Slice of life, RP events, arcs. Basically I’m just looking to interact more with the various interesting people, places, and occurrences that take place in the world of FFXIV! It’s part of my goal in Shadowbringers to really get Chachan out there a lot more.

OOCly, I am ––––

A contract programmer who is free most evenings, and frequently looking for someone to RP with, just hang out, or even go flail around in Overwatch. Most of my evenings and weekends tend to be open, so I’m looking to fill them with SOCIAL ACTIVITIES.

I will warn up front that I’m the sort that doesn’t like to idle around too much, however. So, if I don’t have anything planned for the day, I’ll often try to entertain myself doing something - whether it be leveling Jobs or Trusts or what-have-you. The thing to keep in mind is that these are usually just my way to waste time, and I would often prefer to do something like RP instead! So please feel free to poke me via /tells or Discord or whatever, even if it looks like I’m busy. I will definitely let you know if I am, but more likely I’ll totally drop whatever I’m doing for something far more fun - like RPing with you!

As for the RP itself... I’m open to try most things within reason. Overly dark or violent themes will likely need to be okayed first (I’m not against them but Chachan’s a cheerful, friendly, gentle sort and that can clash with very gritty stories sometimes!), but I’m willing to give a lot of more lore-bendy ideas and plots a shot if you can sell me on it! I am also open for RP/chatting both in-game proper as well as over Discord (Hamelin#0069).

Additional Plot Hook: Gojirafell ––––

Chachanji - due to a sort of monkey’s paw situation involving a strange snake oil salesman and a modified Gobbielixir potion - has gained the ability to pull an Apache Chief or Ultraman and become quite large. How large is dependent on how much aether he intakes - and thus something he has to watch out for. Overhealing, anything with ether-like properties, and even the aether that Primals use when they seek to temper (which oddly enough makes him immune to that effect) will cause this to happen whether he likes it or not. As such, he tries to avoid situations where the very large cat might be let out of the bag.

This is kept under a Read More mostly because it is a Plot Hook that could fall outside people’s comfort zones where it comes to lore-bending and personal head-canons. As such, it’s something that only will be a Thing in situations where it is clearly identified that it is being used and, more importantly, that everyone involved is okay with it. Otherwise, it will rarely - if ever - be directly alluded to or even referenced. After all, it’s something Chachan would be trying to keep secret about in either case!

As for how someone might come across this odd trait, the events of his trip to Kugane - the rescue of the sinking ship specifically - resulted in a drunken captain and crew spouting tales of a sea giant that rescued them. These were overheard by a Kugane writer and have become the basis of a series of Doman stories and picture books. Not to mention the events of the recently completed Kyodai Hero arc could provide further ways!

Or we could probably manage to manufacture a scene where the secret slips - either just slip of the tongue or witnessing the Gojirafell himself! Especially for any First RP as the Pixie that abducted him is well aware of his ability and gets an absolute kick out of messing with him with it. Both to embarrass him and to glamour his outfit to show off her burgeoning fashion sense on such a sizable canvas (Yes, she takes some cues from Tomoyo from Cardcaptor Sakura)!

#ffxiv #balmung #looking for rp #chachanji #dunesfolk #lalafell #lusiott #dwarves #gojirafell

[sarakuper]

San Rafael; Work Away

Stop #3, December 21-January 7

Our time in San Rafael was very relaxing, thrilling, and interesting. Some days we spent doing little to nothing, which was nice for a few days but too boring for me at some points. Other days Sean and I did some awesome activities pushing us both way out of our comfort zones. Lastly, we experienced authentic Colombian culture first hand. Being there for holidays and festivals meant we were there for some of the most quiet and exciting days of the year.

When we arrived on Saturday we had no idea what to expect. This stop being our first WorkAway, we wondered…what work would we be doing? How many hours were expected of us? Are any meals included? For that first day we hung out and enjoyed the beautiful location at the hostel, which is located on a steep hill, completely open and overlooking the city. It’s totally lush and absolutely beautiful. The view alone is a reason to spend all day in the hostel relaxing. 

There are 3 people who own the hostel, all Colombian, and all in their 20’s. Lili was there when we arrived, Manuel arrived the next day (Sunday), and Laura arrived after spending Christmas with her family in Medellin. Immediately after arriving Sean and I fell in love with their cat Canela, which is “cinnamon” in Spanish. We thought she was a kitten because she isn’t full sized, but it turns out she is an old lady! She lived on the property with the previous owner, who was thought to be not very kind to her. When Lili, Laura, and Manuel bought the place about a year ago, Canela was pregnant with a dead litter. They paid to have them surgically removed, and since then Canela has been their beloved pet. She is so cuddly and sweet. She jumps on your lap for pets or a nap, and she answer to your calls. She’s the kind of cat that acts like a dog. We immediately fell in love with her. It’s not like we are trying to fill a void or anything... :)

When Manuel arrived on Sunday we discussed the work we would be doing; we would redo the kitchen (and it really needed it) and lunch would be provided. We started making plans for this work Monday morning. I was going to repaint the kitchen and organize it differently while Sean would build some cabinet doors and shelves. Our work load was different each day. Sometimes we felt good with the work we were doing that we spent hours doing it. Other days we did little to nothing. Either way, Leidy and Karen came every morning to clean the hostel, and during our first week Leidy cooked us lunch too. And wow did she cook us the most delicious healthy food!!!

Leidy and Karen live in the same building as the hostel/language school in a separate apartment. Leidy is probably in her late 30’s or early 40’s, and Karen is her 10 year old daughter. Neither of them spoke a word of english, but they quickly became a big part of our trip in San Rafael. Since Karen was off from school she came to help her mom cook and clean every morning. One morning I was doing some henna on hands and legs when Karen told me “linda!” which means “cute” or “pretty” in Spanish. I asked her if she wanted one, and when she said yes I told her to ask her mom first. Next thing you know, I was giving henna tattoos to both Karen and Leidy; mandala type flowers on their legs and their names written on their wrists. I wish I took a photo of this, but I didn’t :(. I did however take a picture of my henna, and finally took a picture with Leidy and Karen on our last day.

From then on, Karen and I would hang out together almost every morning. She would help me study Spanish while also helping her mom work. I would pull up a new vocabulary word I wanted to learn from an app on my phone, and she and I would practice using that word in a sentence. She would then correct my awful grammar before moving on to the next new word. Some evenings after that I saw Karen and Leidy hanging out outside or walking into town. We always talked and all made efforts to communicate as much as possible. My broken Spanish was enough to connect with both of them, but what it really highlighted was that you don’t need to speak the same language to express love and kindness.

Over Christmas Eve we joined Lili’s boyfriend, Brandon, at his house where he was hosting a BBQ. And that’s exactly how Colombians celebrate Christmas; they BBQ on the street with beers and loud music. And they were kind enough to grill lots of veggies for me :)

During our time in San Rafael we experienced some epic thunder storms. It rained almost every night, and being in a hostel where the common area is wide open made the storms so fun. Normally when we went into town we did so in the evening and nights, only because the days were so hot, and so walking up and down the hills to the city center was a bit warm… but, every time we went out at night it was like a guessing game if we would get poured on. Every night was cloudy, so there was really no telling. It made it a little more fun :) I love rain in warm weather! 

Another day, after working and panting in the morning, we went to the nearest watering hole for a quick swim. Lili’s mom was in town, so we went together plus Bendzhi, a Chinese girl staying at our hostel long term. The watering hole was amazing for people watching. So many locals go there to cool off and swim. Kids ands dogs run around everywhere while vendors sell snacks from fresh fruit to churros. I wish I had photos, but it was better to bring little to nothing since we were ditching our stuff to go swimming.

Steve was another guy at our hostel, probably in his mid 40’s, and from Canada. We spent a good amount of time with him, especially after hiking to a waterfall with him, and Manuel. The hike was pretty short but beautiful. We walked right by horses and cows/bulls before approaching the waterfall.

Just before NYE Lili left to spend time in San Carlos, another town about an hour west, for the next month or so. Laura and Manuel both went to meet Manuel’s family, and so Sean and I had the hostel to ourselves. We went out in town and hung out at a bar until midnight, when everyone got up to hug and kiss each other. Soon after Sean and I went home to hit the hay. Neither of us were feeling great (my throat was sore and he had an allergy attack), plus we don’t particularly care much for this holiday.  

Something I loved about staying at this hostel was that on most days a group of small monkeys would come looking for food. Of course we bought bananas in preparation of this, and fed them quite often. They are so small and so cute!!! They would call at us until we fed them their beloved bananas.

The most exciting thing we did during our time in San Rafael was a canyoneering trip with Manuel, his sister Julianna, and her husband Freddy. We hiked to a spot along a river, got into wet suits and harnesses, and began our decent in the river. We slid down the rocks, jumped off cliffs, and repelled our way through the river. Sean’s fear of heights kicked in during the last part of the activity. But, there we were.. and there was no turning back! This trip was short, but seriously one of the coolest things we’ve done. We were so high on life from the awesome adventure it was!

Another day Manuel and Laura invited us on a fishing trip again with his sister and brother in law. We fished along a river, and although Sean and I both didn’t catch anything we still enjoyed the experience very much. Colorful birds where flying all around us, calling out to each other, and it was really beautiful to watch. Eventually we made our way to a waterfall where we “parked” our boats to go explore. We climbed to the top of the waterfall where we found a beautiful swimming hole to enjoy all to ourselves. We explored deeper, climbing up the next small waterfall. It was absolutely stunning, and easily the highlight of the fishing trip. We swam and jumped off the rocks (don’t worry- Manuel, a certified guide, checked to see that they were safe first) while enjoying all the beauty around us.

The next day we had the opportunity to visit a Panela farm, watching its production from start to finish. Panela is the natural sweetener widely used here in Colombia, and I think a lot of Latin America. It comes in thick blocks that are chipped at and use as sweeter for many of their drinks, specifically chocolate (the drink) and natural juice. We started by crushing the sugarcane using a machine, followed by a long cleaning process to purify the juice before it crystalizes into a sugar. The colombian family that owns the farm has been making Panela all their lives. The whole operation is run between 4 siblings; 3 brothers and 1 sister, all in their 70’s. The abuela welcomed us into her beautiful home and made us breakfast, and then lunch once it got late enough in the afternoon. I am so grateful to have been welcomed to this family’s farm and home with arms open wide. The love they put into this work, and the history behind it all makes it so special. For so many reasons this day was one I will never forget.

One of the last events that went on while we were gone (and yes, wow, a lot has really happened) was Festivo del Rio, festival of the river. We are not sure how the name is related to the celebrations, but what we do know is that this small town fills up with tons of Colombians from all over the country to come celebrate this festival at San Rafael. Restaurants were packed, the hostel we stayed at was fully booked, and the streets were crowded with happy people. On Friday night we watched part of the parade, where structures of mythical creatures ran the streets breathing fire and pure fun.

At the beginning of this post I wrote that times during this leg of the trip I was bored, yet I didn’t get to writing any of this post until the bus ride out of town. I didn’t realize how many special experiences we had until it was time to write about it. But thats exactly why I do this :)

And now that I am writing this while on the bus leaving San Rafael, it feels bitter sweet to leave. This town is so authentically Colombian. The only other English speakers we met were 3 others from our hostel, one Canadian, one American, and one Chinese who spoke English fluently. Saying goodbye was so sweet, as Laura told me that seeing my face is like getting a dose a diabetes. There’s a bit of a language barrier there.. but what she was saying is that I’m so sweet and she feels that every time she sees my face 😂. As for Leidy and Karen... well Leidy starting to cry. I told her “I miss you” in Spanish because I have no idea how to speak in future tense to say “I will miss you”. Karen, her 10 year old daughter who was my best friend on this leg of the trip, gave me hugs goodbye. I will miss practicing Spanish with her very much. She actually knows how to explain things to me better than the adults!

Anyway, I am so looking forward to Josh’s arrival! This is just the start of what I think will be a very fun month with friends (Sam and Victoria next week) and then my mom and cousin Maria in Cartagena! 

Thanks for reading fam, love you all.

[plounce]

anyway while i was browsing thru blogs i got reminded how much i like the t*ylor sw*ft song “forever and always” since my mom bought the album for us when i was like 13? 14? anyway i listened to that and since i am always ready to just sort of talk about my mother i will talk about my mother now. “ive been dying to talk about my mother!”

anyway i was listening to that particular tsw*ft song (a lyrics video on youtube because she will get NO clicks from me) and thinking about how my mom bought that album for us because she saw it was The Hot Cool Teen Girl Thing and that is yet another thing my mother presented to us in an attempt to help us fit in with the feminine majority that she has also always felt alienated from! the makeup she bought us for christmas and presented to us, but never helped us learn how to use it because she had no idea how to use it. some nail polish and then later eye shadow palettes. limp efforts because we didn’t really ask for it, beg for it, seek it out, but neither did we reject it. we just wavered in this strange place beneath culturally relevant femininity. i never saw my mother really be feminine. she was a woman, dressed like a woman, wasn’t really tomboyish or masc in any way, she was just... plain. she didn’t make a special effort to be especially feminine. her face is bare and her hair is kind of scraggly and thin and untreated and for most of my youth she wore t shirts and jeans - only in the last six years or so has she worn shirts that are a little fancier, bought things one step above. only one step! nothing really out of pattern. just one step up.

i saw my childhood best friends’ mothers dye their hair, i still see my friends’ mother dye their hair back to full luster. and it has taken me a long time to realize that that’s the normal, that’s the general normal expectation, because MY normal was my mother just sort of Existing. and it made my teenage years really hard!! i had no idea of or access to the knowledge of all the things i was SUPPOSED TO DO to be a FULLY CULURALLY GIRL! i fumbled my way through everything. my mother never really helped me or told me anything: she never told me to start shaving, but i started shaving my legs because i saw that the girls in my 6th grade pe class were, and i have fairly light body hair (outside of the concentrated areas like the brows/pits/etc) but i observed that oh, they were making their legs smooth, this is what i was supposed to do to not be A Child anymore. so i used my sister’s razors and shaved my legs, and then one day my mother and sister saw my legs propped up in the car and saw that i had shaved them and were disappointed. “you shaved your legs? you didn’t need to.” does leg hair start coming in thicker once you’ve hit puberty full force? i don’t know! i would have to look it up. but i shaved my legs, and now the insides of my shins is long dark hair. the outsides get scrubbed and rubbed by my jeans and socks, and my thighs are light. i decided not to three years ago this spring, and it’s been good, i’m glad i stopped shaving. that’s one thing my mother does, i think, but i just assumed Was, because it was invisible to me. so much of femininity and womanhood has been invisible to me, either because my mother didn’t do it or if she did she did it invisibly.

those little attempts to help us. i wonder if she feels alienated from femininity, or if she isn’t as clued in on gender theory. i wonder about my mother’s relationship with womanhood. high school was so strange for me, experimenting very tentatively with the beauty rituals while having NO CLUE HOW TO DO THEM! my freshman homecoming my mom bought a prepackaged box of makeup stuff and we both sat down and watched the video on what the fuck we were supposed to do with it all, and we both didn’t really Get It. she was a very good face-painter, for carnivals, when i was a kid, she’d volunteer. i’ve made more peace with mine in my adulthood, i’ve struck out the parts of the rituals i don’t care for and consciously performed the rituals i will do a couple times. there are some i am terrified of not doing - my hair MUST be long enough to frame my face, i have to pluck some of my facial hairs - but i’ve both grown bold enough and beaten down enough to go out sometimes with my ugly bare acne’d face. i still can’t fathom the rituals other girls put so much time and energy into as their normal. i have depression and i have my upbringing, or my lack of, besides little attempts to help us have access that never quite worked.

on another note, i got invited to drink a little bit when my family was together in nevada last weekend at my uncle dave’s, because they all like wine. my mother doesn’t drink. my father is a wine guy and likes wines from the willammette valley and has a glass of wine with dinner. my mother doesn’t like losing control, doesn’t like not having control of herself. i can relate: i’ve decided i can only drink when i am with people i am utmost, utmost comfortable with, and anyone who isn’t there with my comfort zone get one drink out of me before i realize i can’t stand acting like the person i am constantly trying to beat into shape, into normality. but i decided to let myself be cajoled into having a drink with family, and uncle dave asked me what drink i like, and i answered that i really only like mike’s hard, or other fruity drinks that are meant to taste of something sweet and not alcoholic. so he made some crystal light and put some vodka in a tumbler and i had a drink, and it didn’t do much to me, because i didn’t want to have much more than one, didn’t want to be anything but the least drunk of the people drinking out on the patio. it tasted fine. the next day they bought me some actual mikes hard at total wine when we did a little shopping but i went to bed early because i had (have!) a cold and it was making me so sleepy and exhausted. i just never drank, also because i think they put them out in the shed and i didn’t want them enough to request them without being asked. honestly that’s how a lot of my life is: i don’t want things enough to actively pursue, i settle back and watch and i make sure that yes, it isn’t out of line if i ask, and being asked raises my interest level anyway. i wonder if that’s the chicken or the egg: if i’ve trained myself to not desire or if i just have a very high threshold for desire.

anyway when we were in costco this afternoon, my mom asked me what i thought of “dave’s hard lemonade” as we’d called it. i said it was ok, i didn’t really taste the vodka except for a couple “oh, THERE’S that slight taste of nail polish remover.” then she told me about how she doesn’t like vodka - reminds her - that’s what her mother (my grandmother) would always drink - with tang. TANG? i said, to add to the repartee, GROSS! apparently she’d leave the half empty glasses all over the house, and vodka just brings my mother back to those glasses, the smell of them.

i have the faint knowledge that what killed my grandmother was old age, but the damage to her liver didn’t help. that’s really it. in all her ramblings of the Stories of her past she never talked about drinking - but that wasn’t the important part of her life. again i bring up the time my grandmother’s memory slipped and wavered and she replaced my mother with my sister in a story, and i and my sister were sitting there, and i told her no, who’s my mother, and she was confused, and eventually i went out to the driveway, to my mother’s car, where she was sitting and reading or maybe working on something, and i cried, and she said it’s okay, it’s alright, i’m used to it. or something like that. she was okay with it. amanda says she is still cut up about her relationship with mamu, but i don’t know if it’s as much as she thinks it is. i think my mother is where i get my dispassion from. amanda knows more than me about all this, but i am more like my mother than my sister is, which would have made child me very frightened and scared, to have that comparison be on me.

ever since sweet aggie made those tweets about “my mother: you! you made me like this! and then you find out about your grandmother: ah. you are mother fucker?” that’s how it is! i am always thinking about this, before and after, but yes! again, i think my mother tried to help us gain access to the normal woman culture because she never had access to it, because mamu was an older foreign woman and SHE was raised by a woman who treated her poorly because she was her stepdaughter. i don’t know my step great grandmother’s name. god, how do i not know that, she is why i am like this!

i wonder if my mother feels bad that she wasn’t able to grant us access, or if she’s ok with us being a little odd. girls who grew up with noses in books and visits to museums and quarries and no model of femininity in our real daily lives. that sounds pretentious but i am distanced from mainstream culture and it’s difficult sometimes, it is a difficult youth to go through. i think there are good points but there are enough insufferable nerds, i don’t need to go over them. i’m glad she demanded we try to answer her teaching leading questions all the time, how she tried to enrich us. i am grateful. there were positive things she did. she didn’t get it perfect, who can, but the flaws in my upbringing loom heavy over me. ok, no, some things are flaws - my untidiness in this house, my probably poor eating habits, my dispassion for friends in the physical private spaces - but while my lack of feminine role model caused my troubles i don’t think it was a flaw. it was difficult in my adolescence but that’s not her fault. she didn’t do anything, she just existed, and that’s not wrong.

#chirps #long post #mothers #irl mothers #alcohol #if u read this... i hope u translated my ramblings as something artistic! god dont we all hope for ourselves to be art! to be profound!

[ivarinleatherpants]

ok, OTP questions all of them. Or one through ten. Or one through five. You know what, I don't care. Gimme, I'm desperate.

Whelp, we’ll see how many of these I can get through! XD

1: Who spends almost all their money on the other?

-Ivar. Totally Ivar. He’s the one who has never needed to stick to a budget, and he loves spoiling Gwen with all the nice things she could never afford growing up.

2: Who sleeps in the other’s lap?

-Ivar wants Gwen to sit in his lap more, but she gets worried about hurting his legs. More often, it’s Ivar who ends up falling asleep with his head in her lap while she runs her hand through his hair.

3: Who walks around the house half-naked and who yells at them to put on some clothes?

-Pfft. Ivar, obviously. The second he comes home the shirt comes off. Gwen doesn’t mind so much, but she needs to get stuff done, dammit! She can’t keep getting distracted by the... arms... and... the other muscles... and...

4: Which one tells the other not to stay up all night and which one stays up all night anyway?

-It’s pretty equal. Though Ivar’s the one who’s more likely to actually be out all night. He loves to go to punk concerts or to play with his band, but Gwen doesn’t like the noise and crowds. Sometimes she’ll come pick him up, but a lot of times she just waits for him to come home.

It probably doesn’t help that he always gets very... erm... energetic... after all the adrenaline. Then he comes home with his full punk-regalia on, his makeup all smudged and his hair messy and... yeah...

5: Which one tries to make food for the other but burns it all by accident and which one tells them that it’s okay and makes them both cookies?

-Gwen. She’s a competent cook, and can make a decent meal, but she has to have a recipe she can follow or else things can get out of hand. Ivar is just proud of her for trying to go out of her comfort zone, even though she can’t cook a steak to save her life.

6: Which one reads OTP prompts and says “Oh that’s us!” and which one goes “Eh, not really”?

-Ivar doesn’t know what an OTP prompt even is, and teases Gwen horribly for reading fanfiction.

Ivar: *Gleefully* This is straight-up porn, Ging!

Gwen: GIVE THAT BACK THIS MINUTE!

Ivar: Metal arms? Really? Is that your thing, babe? Blue eyes and a bit broken?

Gwen: I’M NEVER SPEAKING TO YOU AGAIN!

7: Which one constantly wears the other’s clothes?

-Gwen totally wears Ivar’s shirts.

It’s unlikely anything but Gwen’s most over-sized ugly sweaters would fit Ivar.

Not that he’s ever tried or anything... but there was that one pair of pants that would have gone SO well with his jacket...

8: Which one spends all day running errands and which one says “You remembered [thing], right?”

-Again, probably equal. Gwen does a lot of the shopping early on, just because-again-Ivar had no clue how to shop frugally. But later on she ends up working at Kattegat U as a research scientist/teacher, and he has Heathen Hotrods so he can stay home with the kids, he ends up running a lot of the errands.

9: Which one drives the car and which one gives them directions?

-Depends. They both like to drive. There are some cars Ivar prefers to drive, but he categorically refuses to drive Gwen’s Subaru Mom-mobile, so it’s a toss-up. It also depends of in one is more tired, or if Ivar’s legs are hurting more than usual.

10: Which one does the posing while the other one draws?

-Gwen is the only one who draws, but she doesn’t do people. Ivar does like to take pictures, though, and has quite the collection *wink wink nudge nudge*.

11: If they were about to rob a museum, which one does backflips through lasers and which one is strolling behind with a bag of chips?

-Ivar is the backflipper, while Gwen would be following behind, shouting at him to be more careful and STOP doing that he’s going to hurt himself!

12: Which one of your OTP overdoes it on the alcohol and which one makes the other stop drinking?

-Oddly enough, Gwen is probably more likely to overdo it. She doesn’t know her own limits the way Ivar does. He’s good at keeping an eye on her and letting her have fun, but making sure she drinks water and stops before she makes herself really sick.

13: Which one likes to surprise the other with a lot of small random gifts?

-They’re both the sort to get little things just because it makes them think of the other. Ivar probably a little bit more, just because he’s more financially spontaneous. 

14: Which one keeps accidentally using the other’s last name instead of their own?

-Gwen hyphenates when they get married. Ivar proudly introduces them as Dr. and Mr. Wessex-Lothbrok. It gets to the point where he sometimes forgets he didn’t actually change his name. XD

15: Which one screams about the spider and which one brings the spider outside?

-Neither of them are super bothered by spiders. Unless it’s a really big one and it shows up in the shower, then both of them are likely to shriek and cry for help.

16: Which one gives the other their jacket?

-Gwen probably spends more time wearing Ivar’s jackets than he does. She doesn’t even have to indicate that she’s cold, he just has this sort of sixth sense and immediately swoops in like some leather-clad savior.

17: Who keeps getting threatened by the other’s overprotective older sibling?

-I think this is pretty obvious, considering it’s already happened. lol. It’s a long time before Ivar and Aethelred actually start to get along, and even longer before they can really be considered ‘friends’. 

18: Who’s the first one to admit they have feelings for the other?

-Let’s see. Ivar pretty much jumped in head first, but Gwen was the first to say “I love you”. It’s easy for him to be affectionate, but hard for him to talk seriously about his feelings. Whereas Gwen grew up in a family that was much more open about that sort of thing.

19: How good would your OTP be at parenting?

-They both have their strengths and weaknesses. Gwen has less experience with kids, and is pretty uncomfortable with them when she first meets Ivar’s huge family. He’s the one who is the most gung-ho about having kids, but isn’t actually all that into kids that aren’t his own.

With their kids, Ivar is really good at handling the not-so-serious stuff, the tantrums over silly things that Gwen has a hard time being patient with. But it’s really hard for him if one of his kids is really hurt, whereas Gwen is very good at remaining calm during crises. 

20: Which one types with perfect grammar and which one types using numbers as letters?

-They’re both grammar Nazis, and mock Alfred for using numbers and other text shorthand.

21: Who gets attacked by a bully and who protects them?

-They will both come in, guns blazing, if someone tries to hurt the other. They even aggressively defend each other against themselves. Self-deprecation is met with physical assaults with deadly plushies.

22: Who makes the bad puns and who makes a pained smile every time the other makes a pun?

-Ivar makes ALL the bad puns, and is SO happy when he’s finally able to legitimately use dad humor. Gwen pretends to cringe, but she actually thinks he’s really funny.

23: Who comes home from work to see that the other one bought a puppy?

-Gwen has come home to find a new animal many times. Many, many times. Once it was a daschaund puppy that had lost all it’s fur (Napoleon), another time it was a mini horse in their shed. Ivar argues that he tried to say ‘no’, but the kids insisted.

Ivar: No guys, we aren’t adopting the horse.

Judah (a.k.a Ivar Jr.): *Slapping his little four-year-old hand down emphatically* Daddy! He needs a famiwy!

Alyssa (a.k.a Gwen Jr): *Two and already running the world with an iron pout* Pony! Pony!

24: Which one gives the other a piggyback ride when they’re tired?

-Ivar: Are you tired? Wanna ride on my back?

Gwen: No.

Ivar: Giiing! C’moooon!

Gwen: No! Your legs are already going to be hurting from all this walking!

Ivar: Ging, get over her and let me carry you!

Gwen: No, you can’t make me!

*Continues, ad infinitum.*

25: Which one competes in some sort of activity and which one does the overzealous cheering?

-Ivar is more likely to play a sport, but really, he’s the shameless fanboy. Gwen’s maybe tried to leave him at home once or twice when she’s getting an award of some kind, because he makes that bad of a ruckus.

26: Who takes a selfie when the other one falls asleep on their shoulder?

-Ivar. He just can’t get enough of his cutie-patootie. Gwen protests that her drooling isn’t cute, and if he doesn’t delete that right now, so help her...

27: Which one would give the other a makeover if they asked?

-Also Ivar. The few times Gwen’s gone with him to a show, she lets him give her a full punk makeover. Just in general he likes to pick out her clothes. He may know the contents of her closet slightly better than she does.

28: Which one owns a pet that the other is absolutely terrified of?

-Neither of them is really afraid of the other’s pet, but Gwen is deeply suspicious of Napoleon on occasion. She’s sure he’s not as innocent as he looks, especially considering the number of times he’s conned Ivar into letting him sleep in their bed.

29: Which one holds the umbrella over both of them when it rains?

-Ivar has a strong streak of chivalry, hammered into him since birth by Aslaug. She taught him how to behave in high society, and there’s certain things that he still does on instinct.

30: If your OTP went on vacation, where would they go and what would they do? Who would take the pictures?

-They’re both homebodies to a certain extent, so they wouldn’t be constantly travelling, but they’d still like to visit other countries. Especially Ivar, who loves history. They probably take a couple trips every year. Gwen plans out the itinerary and makes Ivar stick to it despite his tendency to wander off. They like to see historical sites and go to museums. Probably a good mix of exciting stuff like amusement parks, and just chilling in a nice hotel somewhere scenic.

Ivar, of course, brings two or three cameras along and uses all of them.

[eatplantswanderoften]

Routine

Well...it’s been another hot minute, at for that I apologize. The past few weeks have been crazy hectic for me, and I’m still not sure my body knows what time zone its in. Throughout all of that craziness, there was alot of change. Anyone who knows me knows I live for my daily routine. And hell, has it ever been sidetracked recently. So lets start from the beginning shall we...(if I can even remember where that is). Going to be honest here, this is going to get personal. Any men reading this that do not want to hear about women’s bodily functions, abort the mission now.

First big event was I finally found a doctor, and realized my thyroid medication was way too high for my current size. Dropping the medication was tough in my mind. Even though scientifically I know how it works, for some reason all I could think was “fuck, my metabolism is going to slow down. I need to start dieting again or I’m going to turn into a whale”. When I really should be thinking about all the good it will do, not having it wear away my bones, causing brain fog, etc.  But, I did it, on the newer, lower dose of medication and feeling good about it.

In doing this, I also started letting myself eat a bit more fats. FATS? They don’t actually make oyu fat apparently. They keep me full, they clear the brain fog, not to mention they taste hella good. Andyou know what happened when I stated increasing fatsin my diet? I GOT MY DAMN PERIOD BACK! Its not regular, its not normal, but its fucking happening. This is huge. It means my body may, be it very slowly, actually be starting to rebound from all the shit I have put it though. In the back of my mind I still had this voice saying “if you got your period back, it means you gained weight. Best put a stop to that asap before you grow a huge gut”. But as time goes on, and as days pass and I feel better and stronger, its getting far easier to drown out that voice. Over the past few weeks people have been telling me how healthy and happy I look. My face has more color, I have more energy, I’m even lifting more weight at the gym. Its these points right here that make the recovery easier, no matter how much that little devil inside me is screaming.

Then there was the travel. First came Morocco.  The most exotic, beautiful, and hectic place I have ever beheld. I was worried going there. What will I eat? There is SO much bread. OMG I’m going to balloon. But then I thought, I am NOT going to let this ruin my experience. So you know what? I didn’t. I went there and savored every delicious morcel. The bread, the oils, the dates,the nuts (see below for some delicious photos). Sure I had the little voice screaming inside me (and honestly, I know that will take years to fade, if ever), but its slowly making its way to a dull roar.  And you know what? I couldn’t be happier with this. I finally allowed myself to live and damn, I ain’t ever looking back.

Houston came after this. Not so exotic, not so exiting, but still outside of my normal routine and way outside my comfort zone in terms of eating. While there it wasn’t soo bad. Got to taste some delicious vegan goodies we dont get in Canada, and some fabulous vegan options at the conference and local resturants. But then there was the travel back. Delay after delay, stuck in airports, completely and utterly exhausted. I had some tasty snacks with me, all of which were nuts, chocolate, things I would notlet myselfhave too much of. So in the airport, after hour 3 of my flight beeing delayed, I broke downand got a burrito. Logically, I know its just veggies, a wrap, and some guac. Healthy, fulling and delicious. But I did the badthing and looked up the nutrition. ~750 calories...in one sitting. This basically sent me on adownward spiral from here on out. That voice started screaming, louder and louder as the day went on. It took me until the next day, after a few hours of much needed sleep, to finally realize that this was totally ok. This is a normal lunch meal for most people. Sure I may not be comfotable eating like this quite yet, but it was not gluttonous, not binging, just simply a meal.

Throughout all of this travel not getting to go to the gym was hitting me hard. No morning gym, no evening yoga. So I made sure I went for long walks each day to ensureI was keeping active. But I didn’t force myself to workout, which, in and of itself, was a huge step for me. Not only have I been restricting food all this time, but I have likely been overexercising too. Working out every morning, doing yoga every evening, and never really giving my body time to recover. So this trip, even though somedays I walked 30+ km, I didn’t lift a single weight...and it didn’t kill me. Let me realized that maybe my body does need rest afterall.

So there you have it. The last month in a nutshell. I am finally getting back to my regularily scheduled programming. I’m sorry if this post was a complete clusterfuck of thoughts and stories, but hey, that word describes meperfectly right now. Bottom line is that voice, that little devil inside me is slowly starting to quiet down. I’m allowing myself, trusting myself, to eat what my body needs, not what I think will be the lowest calorie option for it. I feel SO much better for it, and its motivating me to keep it up. So now that I’ve got all of that out, here are some photos of amazing vegan Moroccan food!

Juice was everywhere here. Fresh pressed and DAMN delicious. AND I let me self drink it. LOTS of it.

Moroccan Tapas: Marinated beets, carrots, beans, and zuchinni, zallouk, olives, potato, moroccan salad and bread. Fresh OJ for dipping! From Clock Cafe in Marrakech.

Vegan apple deliciousness from Earth Cafe in Marrakech.

The most amazing mixtures of Moroccan salads known to man.

Vegetable Couscous. This was truly enough food to feed a small village.

Fresh oranges with cinnamon. Simple and delicious.

Roasted veggie meal from Rick’s Cafe in Casablanca.

My Daily breakfast, which I continue to have now that I am home. Nuts, dates, fruit, olives, hummus and BREAD.

Traditional Harrira and zallouk from the most adorable little resturant in the medina in Rabat.

Vegan deliciousness from Earth Cafe in Marrakech.

What I like to call the best damn sandwhich known to man. Found this in the Medina in Rabat. Fresh bread stuffed with fried eggplant and potato, moroccansalad, roasted peppers, Moroccan salad (cucumber, tomato and onion) and harissa <3<3

#vegan #veganfood #eatingdisorderrecovery

[secretshinigami]

Light Yagami and the Night the Task Force Decided to Take a Break

Author: @pashmina-dhaage For: @rin-amazing Pairings/Characters: Implied L/Light, Watari, Soichiro Yagami, Aizawa, Mogi, Matsuda Rating/Warnings: PG-13, alcohol Prompt: L, Light and the task force go to a bar and shenanigans ensue. Matsuda gets too drunk; Mogi and Aizawa pick a fight with one another (playful) while Soichiro referees/tries to make them play fair; L and Light spar intellectually over some bourbon and L is a lightweight and needs help from Light getting back to the car. Author’s notes: I’m not gonna lie, this is scattered and lacks a proper story. It probably reads like a scene from a bigger story but I tried to have some fun with sprinkles of a teensy bit of angst here and there. I tried to keep most of the elements of the prompt except intellectual sparring because I honestly don’t have it in me to write something like that. I hope you like it!

‘Ryuzaki, you can’t come like this!’ Matsuda cried, as Ryuzaki stepped outside the Task Headquarters wearing his usual white shirt and blue jeans. ‘You look the same as usual!’

‘And why is that such a problem, Matsuda?’ L raised an eyebrow at him. Light could already tell L was determined to be sulky tonight.

‘No, I mean’, Matsuda sputtered, ‘I just- you know, all of us made an effort, look at me, I’m wearing my best jacket!’

‘He just wants us to have a good time’, Light interjected before L could give his opinion about Matsuda’s jacket.

‘And since when did ridding the world of a serial killer not count as a “good time”?’ L muttered, walking towards the limo where Watari was holding the door to the backseat open. Light followed him, just as Matsuda was pulled into Aizawa’s car by Mogi. He could see his father sitting in the passenger seat beside Aizawa, looking slightly worried.

‘Where are we going anyway?’ Light asked curiously, once they were inside the limo.

‘Bar Stock Exchange.’

‘Hmm, fancy.’

‘Since my task force decided to bully me into letting them waste their time and energy drinking at a bar, it is only fair that I get to pick the place.’

Light rolled his eyes. ‘Okay Ryuzaki, first of all, nobody “bullied” you. It’s impossible to bully you. Second, it’s not a waste of time and energy, everyone in the task force needs cheering up desperately, don’t pretend like you don’t see it. We haven’t had any new leads, or evidence and everyone’s losing their morale. This is actually not a bad idea, even if it was Matsuda who came up with it.’

There was a pause.

‘Light-kun bullied me into wearing shoes earlier’, L grumbled. Light merely sighed.  

It had seemed like a typical day at the Headquarters. There was hardly any activity, and the air seemed desolate and dull. L himself had sat in front of the computers, sulking, not even looking at the case files anymore, while others pretended to read, although almost everyone looked like they were either tired or day-dreaming.

But it was when L pushed away his strawberry shortcake after just one bite that Light felt like he had to do something. He cleared his throat; everyone turned to look at him.

‘I think we all need a break’, Light spoke. After a day of silence, his voice hung oddly in the air and felt almost too loud. ‘Maybe we should take a day off?’

‘And let Kira make a mockery of justice and take over the world?’ L drawled.

‘Don’t be dramatic, Ryuzaki. One day won’t really make a difference.’

‘That does sound like a good idea’, Matsuda piped.

‘Yes that sounds like an amazing idea’, L said, flatly, ‘if you are Kira. Are you Kira, Matsuda?’

‘N-no, obviously not!’

‘I agree with Light and Matsuda, we deserve a break’, Aizawa joined in, stretching. Mogi nodded enthusiastically.

To Light’s surprise, L, instead of shutting everyone down immediately, turned to his father. ‘And what do you think, Mr. Yagami?’

His dad rubbed his eyes tiredly and looked around. ‘I think we do need a break, Ryuzaki. God knows how hard we’ve been working even if there haven’t been any substantial results.’

L stayed silent, even as everyone looked at him expectantly. Then he opened his mouth. ‘You do leave early on Sundays.’

Everyone immediately started yelling in protest. But before Light could say anything, a firm voice drowned out everyone else’s.

‘I think we are all entitled to a day’s break, L’, Watari spoke, looking at L pointedly. L stared back stonily, before finally giving in.

‘Fine’, he muttered.

‘Yay!’ Matsuda exclaimed loudly, making everyone in the vicinity wince. He didn’t seem to notice. ‘Why don’t we all go celebrate at Matsui’s tonight? First round of drinks on me!’

‘Celebrate what, exactly?’ L said, even as everyone around him hummed in agreement with Matsuda.

‘I don’t know, the day off?’ Matsuda chuckled weakly. Matsuda acted like a fool around everyone, but L’s presence in the room made it even worse.

 ‘I don’t know Matsuda, I’d prefer going to my house and go to bed early for once’, Soichiro said.

‘But Chief! We all need the cheer! And besides, outings like these are what makes a team stronger’ - everyone groaned collectively – ‘no really, guys! C’mon! Are we even friends if we haven’t exchanged stories over a few pints of beer?’

‘We are not friends, Matsuda’, Aizawa commented. Matsuda looked genuinely hurt. He looked at Light beseechingly.

It had been ages since Light had gone out with friends. In fact, Light couldn’t remember the last time he had gone out with anyone, except a couple of dates with the girls around him. But there was someone he desperately wanted to hang out with at a bar, purely to see how he would behave in an environment that was (Light guessed) completely out of his comfort zone. Maybe he’d even get drunk and spill something around Light.

‘I’ll join you, Matsuda. To be honest, I think everyone should, we don’t really get any opportunities to hang out with each other outside this building’. Not like he’d ever wanted to before.

Matsuda beamed at him. He could already see Mogi make up his mind. If Mogi came, Aizawa would, even if he complained the whole way. If these three went, his father would certainly join, even if just as a courtesy. That left –

‘Ryuzaki, you should come too’, Light said lightly. L turned to look at him incredulously.

‘Yeah L! Come with us!’ Light could almost see Matsuda’s tail wagging.

‘Absolutely not.’

‘You need a break too, Ryuzaki.’ Although his face remained impassive as usual, Light knew that L was trying to figure out Light’s motive for inviting him. This guy really did need a break.

 ‘Fine, let’s meet downstairs in half an hour, in case any of you need to freshen up’, L said reluctantly. Light had a hunch he’d only agreed so he could figure out Light’s “motives”.

And that’s how they all ended up at BSE, a well-lit, crowded place full of salarymen and great beer. The place was buzzing with life and energy; Light wondered why L had chosen the place specifically.

‘Let’s do shots guys!’ Matsuda looked beside himself at having managed to drag all of them to the bar.

‘I think I’ll stick to beer’, Soichiro said.

‘I am in’, Mogi grinned.

‘Really, Mogi?’ Aizawa looked surprised. ‘Fine, I’m in too.’

‘Light, L? You’ll do shots right?’

‘I don’t drink, Matsuda’, Light replied, well aware of his father’s presence.

Matsuda looked disappointed but quickly got over it. ‘L? What about you? Er, you are above 18, right?’ Matsuda added nervously. L’s expression soured even as everyone around him sniggered.

‘My age is a matter of national security, Matsuda, and yes, I can drink legally. And no, I will not do shots’, L scowled. He looked totally out of his element. This was already turning out to be a great night.

Matsuda, Aizawa and Mogi did their shots while Soichiro sipped his beer, talking to Watari, who had chosen to remain sober in case of any emergencies. L sulked for the first half an hour but when nobody paid him any attention, he resorted to annoying Light, claiming that the only reason Light had agreed to the plan was to get L drunk enough to reveal his name.

‘Oh, stop. My life, unlike you, doesn’t revolve around the Kira investigation. I am capable of thinking outside the confines of the Kira case files’, Light snapped at him. L narrowed his eyes at him.

‘Not all of us have the luxury of distracting ourselves with alcohol and crowded bars while the fate of the world lies in our hands, Light-kun’, L replied, disdain clear in his voice. Before Light could say something, Matsuda yelled at them.

‘There these two go again! No sorry- there two go again! No- wait, there goes these two!’ Matsuda shouted triumphantly. Aizawa and Mogi laughed. Clearly, Matsuda had had too much to drink.

‘Why are you two always fighting!? You are so similar!’ Matsuda continued, draped halfway across the table, emboldened by the cheers he received from Mogi and Aizawa.

‘Sit down, Matsuda’, Soichiro said, not unkindly, though he genuinely seemed disturbed by the comparison between his son and L.

An hour and a half later, they were singing. ‘They’ included Matsuda and Mogi, while Aizawa swayed slightly in his seat. Even Soichiro hummed along when an old nineties song started playing in the background. Meanwhile, L and Light had exhausted all the insults, and were currently trading opinions on Misa’s latest interview.

‘You read it?’ Light asked incredulously, as L finished his second drink.

‘Of course, it’s vital for the investigation’, L replied. Light almost snorted.

‘I assure you, it is, Light. However, all it did was confound me as to how someone so stupid could be one of the Kiras.’

‘Probably because she’s not? God, L’, Light rolled his eyes. ‘I think it was better than the last one she gave. More professional, less talk about Kira and what a great job he is doing.’

‘Light-kun doesn’t feel flattered?’ L tilted his head sideways to stare at Light in his usual obnoxious way.

‘Shut up, Ryuzaki. Besides, it’s Misa. Even if I was Kira –‘

‘Aha!’

‘- if, I said, IF. Anyway, it’s just Misa.’

‘Misa Amane is a very attractive and successful model and yet Light-kun thinks of her as “just Misa”?’

‘Oh shut it, Ryuzaki. She might be attractive but that alone doesn’t make for a good partner.’

‘So what does Light-kun prefer? More brains? Someone more like Kiyomi?’

‘Nah, it’s more like…’ Light had no idea why he was talking about this. Maybe this had been L’s plan all along. Lure Light into the conversation by pretending to be tipsy and make him spill his secrets. Maybe it was just the atmosphere in the bar. Now that it was past 11, the bar was a little less crowded, it being a weekday, and the conversations quieter. Their table was probably the loudest, thanks to Matsuda’s frequent exclamations and Aizawa swearing in between for reasons unknown. Light had no idea what they were talking about, and couldn’t care less.

‘…Kiyomi – is smarter, yeah but I’d prefer someone-’

‘-someone like you, Ryuzaki! He means YOU!’ Matsuda had somehow managed to keep up with their conversation and decided to butt in. Alcohol truly did beautiful things to one’s confidence. His cheeks were flushed and there was no trace of the usual nervousness that he always had around L.

‘Oh shut it, Matsuda! Come here and answer our question!’ Aizawa yelled at him. His words were slurred; that’s when Light realized that both Aizawa and Mogi had quite a number of empty glasses in front of them.  

‘What’s the question?’ L’s enquired. For some reason, he sounded louder to Light than he had before.

‘Who would win in a fight – Mogi or me?’

‘Don’t force me to answer guys, I’m going to get beaten up for this’, Matsuda said pleadingly.

‘You made the rules, Matsuda! This game was your idea!’

‘It’s only fair, Matsuda’, Soichiro joined in. With a jolt of realization, Light realized his father looked a bit tipsy too. He also looked calmer and more carefree than he had seen him in days.

‘Just answer, Matsuda’, Mogi spoke encouragingly, though Light wasn’t so sure if the flexing of his impressive biceps was to demonstrate his strength or to threaten Matsuda.

‘Okay, okay, if I had to choose’, Matsuda looked around nervously, waiting for someone to save him. Nobody did. ‘Okay, Mogi’, he mumbled.

‘What?!’ Aizawa exclaimed as Mogi thumped Matsuda so hard on the back in appreciation that his face almost got bashed against the table. ‘No way!’

‘I agree’, L spoke up unexpectedly.

‘No way!’ Aizawa yelled indignantly. ‘Okay you guys are all stupid and wrong and I’m going to prove it to you. I’m going to prove you wrong, Ryuzaki!’ Aizawa turned to look at Mogi, square in the face. ‘Arm-wrestling match, right here!’

Mogi looked back with grim determination, the effect slightly spoiled by his flushed face. ‘Okay, I can’t really argue with you if you want to lose so bad, but only if Chief agrees to be the referee.’

‘I am in’, Soichiro agreed before anyone could ask. Light prepared himself cheering for Aizawa, solely because he couldn’t stand to be on the same side as L.

‘Alright you two, on my whistle-’

‘Dad, you don’t have a whistle.’

‘-don’t interrupt me, Light.’ L sniggered. Light found he was more distracted by the sound than offended.

‘Okay, since I don’t have a whistle, as my prodigal son pointed out’, (this time, L snorted so loud, it sent Matsuda into a fit of giggles), ‘on my count of three! One, two – Aizawa, no! That’s cheating!’

Aizawa was clearly taking the game more seriously than everyone thought, and had almost pressed Mogi’s hand flat to the table when Mogi came around and managed to bring their joined hands to the centre.

‘Yes, go Mogi! Go!’ Matsuda was cheering loudly behind Mogi. Soichiro was closely watching the two for any signs of cheating. Watari was the quietest but looked like he was enjoying this far more than he was letting on. L was staring at Mogi’s biceps. Light bristled.

‘Go Aizawa!’ Light yelled, just as Aizawa’s hand touched the table.

‘And Mogi is the winner!’ Soichiro lifted up Mogi’s hand in victory. Aizawa looked crushed.

‘What will I tell my daughter now?’ he said, looking horrified. Light realized nearly everyone had too much to drink.

‘If it’s any consolation, Aizawa, you lost to a very strong man’, L supplied. Mogi beamed at him. Light counted his drinks. Four drinks down. If he leaned a bit closer, he could see just the faintest hint of a flush on his pale, pale face.

He reasoned it was because of the drinks and not stupid, strong Mogi.

‘Now now, don’t be sad, Aizawa! You are a very good father, your daughter loves you no matter how many people you lose to in arm-wrestling!’ Matsuda supplied helpfully.

‘You think?’ Aizawa genuinely looked touched.

‘Yes! All of you! ALL OF YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT YOU ARE LOVED! AND CHERISHED! Chief, you are like a dad to me! Like a work-dad but a dad nevertheless!’ Soichiro looked rather uncomfortable but Matsuda was too drunk to notice. ‘And Aizawa, you are like an elder brother! That brother who is hard on you at times but ultimately cares!’ Aizawa looked like he was about to cry. Drunk Aizawa was very emotional, Light had come to realize. ‘Mogi, you don’t say much but your presence is so calming, so warm, you give me confidence! Just like this alcohol!’ Mogi beamed proudly at Matsuda. ‘And Watari, one day I’ll bring myself to forgive you for giving Chief three scoops of ice cream and only two to us, but today is not the day!’ Watari’s moustache failed to hide his silent laughter at this. ‘Light’, Light prepared himself, ‘you are so- you are so- you are so fucking smart and I- I just- Chief deserves a son like you, Light, and I would never believe that you are Kira, because I know you would never do this to your father!’

A slightly awkward silence followed Matsuda’s declaration. Light could feel L watching. He smiled at Matsuda. ‘I think we have all had enough to drink, haven’t we?’

‘No- wait! L! I didn’t do L!’ Matsuda cried. Oh well, Light wasn’t going to lie; he was curious.

‘L you are –I, I want to say – L, you are –’

‘I am what, Matsuda?’ L said impatiently.

‘L YOU HAVE THE BIGGEST DICK!’ Matsuda yelled.

Everything in Light’s brain screeched to a halt as everyone on the table processed the statement in absolute silence. Then everyone who wasn’t Matsuda or L, broke into raucous laughter. Matsuda had a bemused smile on his face as he looked around at them.

‘So you all agree?’

‘Agree on what, Matsuda?’ Aizawa asked, in the middle of wiping his tears.

‘That L’s the world’s biggest dick!’

‘That’s not what you said’, Light giggled (oh god, this was all getting to him, he was giggling). ‘You said L has the biggest dick.’

‘What?!’ Matsuda’s smile vanished, leaving behind a face that defined horror. There was another outbreak of giggles and laughter. ‘No! L, that’s not what I meant! I meant you are a dick! Oh god, this isn’t helping, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I mean I don’t know, I’m sure it’s impressive but –’

‘Okay I think it’s time to leave, everyone’. Light could only tolerate so much conversation about L’s dick.

‘Hmm, it’s quite average, actually’, L supplied thoughtfully. Light had had enough.

‘Really? Like length-wise or-?’

‘I would say maybe a bit above average if you consider the –’

‘Okay, gentlemen, it’s time to leave. Sorry Light, as you can see, we’re all a bit – under the influence.’

‘It’s alright, Dad.’ Average length and – shit, he had to stop.

Sliding the chairs back noisily, the seven of them got to their feet. Outside, Mogi had sobered up a little and provided the shoulder that Matsuda so desperately needed. Aizawa seemed fine on his own, though he was clutching the tail of Mogi’s coat like a child. Watari was calling a cab for the others, as Soichiro called home to tell Sachiko he will be staying back at the Headquarters. It was incredibly late and Light’s house was far, far away from the bar.   

Light felt a gentle tug on his sleeve and turned around to see L standing behind him, looking rather clueless. It was a new expression on him, and Light liked it better than the clearly exaggerated, blank face L would sometimes pull at him.

‘You need help, L?’ he asked, smirking.

L nodded at him, clearly trying his best to look composed. ‘I just need – a bit of assistance.’

Light, still smirking, put his hand around his shoulder and walked him to the limo. The others were still waiting for the cabs to come, and it seemed like Matsuda had finally emptied the contents of his stomach in the trash cans beside the gate. Mogi was holding him from the back, and Soichiro was fetching him a water bottle.

‘We are quite similar, aren’t we, Light?’

Light stilled. L was drunk, clearly.

‘In another universe, Light Yagami, we would have been friends.’ L was smiling at him; a real, genuine, smile, like he was really amused by the thought. Light couldn’t bring himself to return it.

‘We are friends, L’, he managed to say.  In the background, he could hear Matsuda retching and Aizawa consoling him.

L looked at him for a moment, smile disappearing.

‘Let’s just call it a night, shall we, Light-kun?’

Light didn’t find it in himself to disagree. 

A/N: I realize the ending might seem a bit abrupt but I truly couldn’t think of anything I could have added without ruining the whole moment thing I attempted to create?? Anyway, I hope it wasn’t too bad <3 

#fanfiction #submission #Light Yagami #L Lawliet #L #ratings: teen #pashimadhaage #rinamazing #alcohol / #pairings: lawlight #death note #L's Death Day 2017 #Matsuda #Aizawa #Mogi

[followingmywanderlust]

Revisiting Pura Vida

for access to more photos and videos, visit: https://kyliebreenphotography.com/2020/05/01/revisiting-pura-vida/

Over two years ago I left the country for the first time in my life. I have always had a sense of wanderlust, known as a strong urge to travel. In April of 2018, I signed up for a mission trip to Costa Rica through my high school. Little did I know that my experience abroad would shape me completely (read more here). After experiencing the beauty and peace that I found everywhere in Costa Rica, I knew I would have to return to the place that holds such a special place in my heart.

This January I was fortunate enough to return to Costa Rica through pure luck. My father won a free vacation through his work and he was able to pick from a list of destinations. On that list was a trip for two to Costa Rica. After some serious convincing and a lot of procrastination on my family’s part on deciding where to go, we decided that my dad and I would go to Costa Rica (thanks Mom & Bro!).

My dad and I are the travelers of the family (considering my mom dislikes planes) because my dad has lots of experience traveling for work and I want to see the world. We planned our trip for two weeks, one week with the Caravan tour that he won and one week adventuring on our own. Caravan is a touring service that offers tours in several destinations at an affordable price. You can see the route we decided to take in the map below.

In January it is Costa Rica’s dry season which lasts from mid-November to May. The dry season typically consists of sunny, hot, and windy days. The Caribbean side, however, basically has its own weather pattern and is still rainy even during the dry season. The difference between the Carribean and Pacific side are vastly different which I will explain later in this blog.

GETTING READY

PACKING

I am definitely an overpacker when it comes to travel and the thought of a two-week long trip made me nervous. I started out by making a very long list of things I needed to bring and narrowed it down from there. Here are some key items that you should bring to Costa Rica:

Hats & Sunscreen: you must protect your skin from the blazing sun.

A Camera or GoPro: Costa Rica is absolutely stunning and you will want to capture the wildlife and landscapes, but remember that anything can be lost or sadly stolen when traveling so be extra cautious when brining valuables. I brought my camera and laptop and everything was fine, but on my prior trip I was advised to only pack what I needed. Don’t forget to pack your camera batteries, chargers, and memory cards.

Portable Charger: You never know when your phone will run out of juice so make sure to bring a portable charger so you’re always on the grid!

Bug Spray: There will be several hikes that will introduce you to some unwanted bug bites, so in order to avoid them make sure to pack some spray.

Water Bottles: The tap water in Costa Rica is mostly not safe to drink, so bring water bottles and fill them with fresh water from the grocery store instead. During our trip Caravan provided us with bottled water each day, but on our own we bought gallons of water and filled up our bottles before we left for the day. It is so important to stay hydrated when you are working up a sweat.

Comfortable Clothing: Keep in mind that comfort should come before fashion, especially in such hot weather. There are a series of activities that I did that required a change of clothes, so make sure to pack efficiently. We were able to use a laundromat during the trip so we did not have to pack as much! Make sure to pack hiking shoes, sandals, and water shoes because you will need them.

Toiletries: In many places we stayed, the hotel did not provide shampoo, conditioner, etc. so make sure to bring some of your own or check with where you are staying.

Journal: This may seem silly, but if you are someone like me and you have a bad memory, keeping a daily log of your activities will allow you to revisit your trip at any time.

¿HABLAS ESPAÑOL?

Costa Rica is primarily a Spanish-speaking country so it is a good idea to download a translating app onto your phone. A lot of Costa Ricans speak English as the country depends on tourism for their economy, but don’t expect everyone to. And it’s fun to learn a new language when it is everywhere around you! Go out of your comfort zone and try to ask questions in Spanish.

DATA PLAN

Many data plan providers have an international plan that you can sign up for, but a cheaper option is to buy a new SIM card while you are in Costa Rica. My dad is a tech wizard and he can explain this way better than me, but buying a SIM card is a more affordable option than paying a provider day-to-day. My dad bought one right outside the airport when we landed (it was a little sketchy), and it didn’t work very well so I would recommend talking to your data provider instead. My provider had a special plan for $10 a day and I only used it for 3/4 days when I needed to check in with the world. For the most part I was able to get away with using our hotel’s WiFi.

MONEY

Every Costa Rican shop I went to, whether it was an artisan shop or a restaurant, accepts U.S. dollars as well, but it is not a bad idea to exchange some of those dollars for colones. Most places, especially in San José accept both Visa and Mastercard credit cards, but once outside of the city there are a few small, family-owned businesses that only accept cash.

TRANSPORTATION

We were on our own for the first few days we were in Costa Rica, so we needed a rental car. We used the rental service Adobe rent a car which was very reliable and they even picked us up from the airport and drove us to our car. During our Caravan tour, we were provided transportation everywhere and we had our own bus (shoutout to our bus driver Chega for doing an amazing job).

THE ADVENTURE

TURRIALBA BED & BREAKFAST

After a long day full of travel, we finally arrived at Turrialba Bed & Breakfast, a comfortable, family-owned hotel located in the heart of Turrialba, two hours outside of San José. There are 11 rooms avaliable that are all different sizes. This bed & breakfast is not a typical, luxurious hotel, but it was an excellent way to observe the lives of many locals in Costa Rica. Every morning, one of the staff members would make us breakfast which included pineapples, papayas, rice and beans, juice, toast, and eggs. There is a gorgeous outside patio with many hammocks, a jacuzzi, and several fish tanks that add to a welcoming and relaxing atmosphere. Additionally, there is beautiful rooftop seating with an incredible view of the mountain range surrounding the city. The family was primarily Spanish-speaking, so make sure to know some basic spanish (like if you want fried eggs you should know huevos fritos)!

Within walking distance of the hotel is a beautiful park with a gazebo that the locals love, and restaurants that will not disappoint your taste buds. During my stay, I dined at More Than Words which is right around the corner from the hotel where we enjoyed a delicious pizza and salad.

We stayed at this B&B for two nights and had an amazing time experiencing Costa Rica outside of the populated city.

RIVER RAFTING

After an early morning breakfast at the B&B, we made our way to Tico’s River Adventures. Their base is located in Turrialba only about 10 minutes away from our hotel, and they even offered to pick us up and drop us off! Make sure to pack a change of clothes with you and be aware that you will have the opportunity to swim near the end of the trip, so wear clothes you don’t mind getting dirty/wet. Tico’s website suggests bringing:

swimsuit/shorts (no jeans)

sunscreen or visor

strap to secure glasses

tennis shoes or sandals with ankle straps (no flip flops)

light rain jacket for rainy days

cotton T-shirts for sunny days

A day trip is from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., so be prepared for a long day! Tico’s is the first rafting company to get to the river giving them a competitive avantage over other companies. From Tico’s base, participants are picked up at various destinations on the way to the Pacuare River where the rafting takes place. Be aware that you are all squeezed together in a van depending on how many people are going on the trip. The ride took around an hour to an hour and a half total, and near the end of the drive were some very rocky and steep roads. Between the water and the drive, this trip is not for anyone who has motion sickness.

That being said, the long drive was 100% worth it and rafting was one of the biggest highlights of the trip. The Pacuare River is one of the top five most beautiful ratable rivers of the world according to National Geographic Magazine. Flavio was our guide and we were in a six person raft. Flavio spoke fluent English and had worked in California for a long period of time, and he made our rafting journey comfortable, educational, and hilarious. There are bathrooms located at the start of the river, but after that you will not see another bathroom for around two hours. For equipment we wore a lifejacket and helmet to ensure our safety during the trip. We started the rafting by going over basic instructions on how to paddle forwards and backwards which was easy to learn. There were rapids from difficulty levels one to four (none were too difficult in my opinion), and the rafting started out fairly easy. Along the river are two stunning waterfalls, small villages of the indigenous people of Costa Rica, and several rapids.

There are foot straps within the raft for stability, and falling out of the raft is not a problem as the guides are well trained. I only *almost* fell out of the raft once when Flavio decided to do a 360° turn while going down a rapid. I nearly flew off the side but I was thankfully saved by my dad.

At a calm section of the tour, we were able to get out of the raft and swim. It was one of the most calm and relaxing moments of my entire life. I floated on my back and heard the sounds of wildlife from birds chirping to howling monkeys in the distance. The rainforest trees towered above me on either side, and the water’s current swept me through the warm yet refreshing river.

We drifted towards a set of smooth rocks where we docked the rafts and the guides made us a delicious lunch. We were able to build our own tortillas and for dessert there was fresh pineapple.

After lunch, we continued for a while longer down the river until we reached the end of the rapids. We docked the boat and ended at a small restauraunt where we had the option to buy drinks or use the restroom facilities. Throughout the rafting journey, there is a photographer who kayaks ahead to take photos, and they are offered at the end of the trip for those who want to buy them. Overall, I would highly reccommend river rafting to anyone adventurous enough to try!

SAN JOSÉ

While we were at the B&B, someone who was staying there highly recommended the Mercado Central in San José. We had our final breakfast in Turrialba and drove to San José to find the market, but sadly we found it to be closed on Sundays. We paid a small amount to park in a fenced-in lot and we decided to walk around San José even if we didn’t get to go to the market. We decided to try and find Museo del Oro Precolombino (The Pre-Columbian Gold Museum) after doing some research. On our way to the museum we walked through Central Avenue Boulevard which was lined with shops and fast food restarants. Families, couples, and individuals crowded the walking areas with one hand holding an ice cream cone and another grasping a shopping bag. There were vendors along the sides of the path that were selling handmade bracelets, keychains, and more.

On our way to the museum we found ourselves pretty hungry for lunch so we stopped at the National Theater of Costa Rica (Teatro Nacional Costa Rica) for some delicious food. The interior of the theater was stunning and had several statues just inside the enterance. There was a small cafe located within the theater that served brunch. The cafe was very high-end with paintings and sculptures that decorated the interior. Waiters and waitresses were dressed in black and white and the overall feel of the cafe was prestigious. My father had more than one latte they were so delicious, and I enjoyed my meal as well. We got a window seat which was perfect for people-watching and enjoying the warm breeze.

After our lunch we asked directions to the museum and found right next door to the theater (you have to go down some stairs to find it). The museum was massive and had 3 different floors, one for a history of Costa Rican money, another for artwork, and the third for the gold. There were interactive stations, a fascinating video on the indigenous people of Costa Rica, and hundreds of beautiful artifacts. There was an entry fee that was a little pricey, but with the amount of history and art you got to see, it was worth it.

After our adventures in San José we headed to meet our Caravan tour at the airport where everyone was arriving.

CARAVAN TOUR

When traveling, I fear limitations and impetuosity so I did not expect to have the greatest experience with a guided tour. I like to venture off the formed paths and explore on my own with my camera in my hand – free from time constraints and noisy crowds. Nature has always resonated with me and calmed me down so I was afraid I wouldn’t have the same experience on this tour as I did when exploring Costa Rica on my own.

My fears were silly. This tour was incredible and because of it I was able to see some of the most stunning spots of Costa Rica. Martha Seeyle was our amazing guide and she made the experience so much better by teaching us about the culture and history of Costa Rica. There were some long bus rides, but Martha always had something new up her sleeve to teach us.

After settling in at Hotel Barceló in San Jose, we prepared for our first day of activities: a trip to a coffee farm.

COFFEE TOUR & BUTTERFLY FARM: ALAJUELA If you are not an early riser, this trip may not be for you! We woke up at 7:00 a.m. and grabbed a buffet style breakfast at the hotel (which was very yummy). After breakfast we departed for Alajuela, but on the way we stopped at an artisan souvenir shop and saw the world’s largest ox cart! We got a mini tour of where they make the wheels of ox carts and saw some artisans in action. They provided some fruit and a lemonade-tasting drink (that apparently wasn’t lemonade) for us to snack on. We were given time to shop around the store and use the restrooms, and then we were off to the Doka Coffee Plantation.

Once we arrived we ate a buffet-style lunch in an open area full of seating, and we were the only group there. After we finished eating we were given the opportunity to explore the grounds which had a butterfly garden! There were two levels to the garden and plenty of open space for the butterflies to fly around.

Our guide for the coffee tour was very knowledgable, but in my opinion I found the tour to be a bit bland at times considering I have no interest in coffee. Our guide took us through the step-by-step process of collecting coffee beans from picking them to roasting them and we even watched a short video about the plantation before we started our tour.

One pretty great part though was that we got to sample some chocolate and vanilla covered beans (if you couldn’t tell I have a sweet tooth). We were also given the opportunity to buy the bags of beans directly from the plantation which was pretty neat after just watching the step-by- step process.

I think that a lot of people on the tour enjoyed the plantation, but because I am not a coffee drinker and I prefer activities with a little more action, this was my least favorite activity while on the trip (it only goes up from here!).

We arrived back at our hotel around 3:30 which gave us plenty of time to do some exploring around the hotel and get some rest before dinner. We walked to a local market to pick up some snacks because we had already run out of the ones we brought, and had a relaxing evening. Hotel Barceló was one of the nicest hotels we stayed at with functional wifi, great food, and comfortable and spacious rooms. The only issue is that they played the same exact song on repeat for every single meal to the point where it became a running joke and we could all hum along to it.

RESCATE ANIMAL ZOOAVE: FORTUNA We left the hotel at 8:00 a.m. after enjoying another buffet-style breakfast at the hotel and in no time we arrived at the Rescate Animal Zooave, a wildlife rescue center located in Fortuna. The center is home to 800 animals that are not able to be released into the wild due to injury or becoming desensitized to humans. We watched a short video about the history and mission of the center and we were encouraged to donate to help the animals in the end for surgeries or for new equipment. I took over a thousand photos alone at the center of all the stunning birds, iguanas that roamed free, crocodiles, monkeys, and more. We didn’t even get to see all of the animals the park was so big, and we had a pretty funny encounter with one of the monkeys. We had another buffet-style lunch (we got used to it) at the center which was very yummy, but we ran out of time to try and see the rest of the park. All of the animals seemed to be treated very well and the establishment was clean and welcoming which made me feel really good.

We headed to our next hotel, Magic Mountain Hotel located in Fortuna. To break up the drive, we stopped at a stunning park where we grabbed ice cream and walked around. There were two adorable, stray (we think) dogs in the park that were very friendly and hung out with us while we ate our ice cream.

The great thing about this tour was that Martha always made sure we broke up the longer drives which gave us a chance to grab some food, stretch our legs, and use the restroom. I believe the longest we were in the bus at one time was 2-3 hours.

We arrived at the hotel around 4:00 and instead of eating dinner at the hotel, my dad and I decided to take a 20 minute walk (2km) into town to grab some local dinner. Before deciding on a place to eat, we explored the local shops and bought a few postcards to send out to our family in California.

We ended up at a place called Lava Lounge which had delicious food and not to mention one of the best smoothies I have ever had. The lounge had nice seating that looked out onto the street and an artisan was crafting at the enterance for entertainment. The menu was very extensive and a relief after having too many buffet-style meals (see the menu here). I ordered a Santa Fe wrap and a strawberry banana smoothie which were both very filling. I am a dog lover and the lounge had various advertisements about the importance of adopting or volunteering at shelters which made my heart happy. You could even buy a digital food item and the proceeds would go to the dogs.

Walking back to the hotel was a little sketchier considering there were limited sidewalks and it was dark outside, but it was totally worth the yummy meal. The Magic Mountain hotel had a great view of the volcano (when it wasn’t cloudy), a pool, and very comfortable rooms with air conditioning. The WiFi, however, did not work very well and we were only a few steps away from the lobby which was a little frustrating.

CAÑO NERO HOT SPRINGS: RIO FRIO

We departed the hotel at 8:00 after eating breakfast and drove north until we reached the Rio Frio river. We stopped at a small restaurant and then we proceeded to take a short walk to the river where we boarded a boat. We saw so many fascinating animals from monkeys to lizards. We travelled so far north that we were able to cross the border of Nicaragua!

The boat cruise was only an hour long, but afterwards I was known as the “camera lady” because of my massive lens and how I ran around the boat trying to get as many photos as possible – I was definitely in my element.

After our tour we ate lunch at the restaurant we parked at and then headed back to the hotel. Miraculously, on our way there Chega, our bus driver, spotted a three-toed sloth and a two-toed sloth in the same tree! We pulled over and took a look at the sloths which was very rare to see.

Our next destination was the Baldi Hot Springs which was not exactly as natural as I expected. We were given the option to opt out of this activity, but my dad and I wanted to fill our day. I was expecting a few pools that were completely natural and warmed by the volcano, but I was surprised to find more of a man-made waterpark. There were bars, food, lounge chairs, slides, and lockers for your belongings. Rather than the sanctuary I was thinking of, it was more comparible to a waterpark.

The food and drinks were incredibly expensive (one smoothie was $16) which was disappointing. On the positive side the water was incredibly relaxing and there were separate pools with different temperatures including a cool-down zone.

Because of my initial expectations I was disappointed with the hot springs, but it was nice to sit down and relax in some warm water after a busy day.

HANGING BRIDGES: ARENAL We had a very early morning and woke up at 5:45 a.m. and had breakfast at the hotel at 6:00. Our next destination was the Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park, and to my surprise I had actually been to this park on my last trip! During this trip we were able to see some monkeys, but we didn’t see much other wildlife. The hanging bridges were so cool and the sounds of the forest surrounded us at all times. The walk was around 3.2km, but there was also a shorter version (1.9km) for individuals who didn’t want to walk as far.

Near the end of the walk is a natural waterfall that serves as a great photo spot. Additionally, the entrance of the park has a perfect view of the Arenal volcano, and I was able to recreate a picture from my last trip!

I love the hanging bridges because you become one with nature, and there were barely any crowds so it was incredibly peaceful. After our walk we went headed to our next hotel and stopped for lunch and at another souvenir shop in order to break up the drive (we spent most of the day driving). We even drove by the hotel that I stayed at during my last trip (a.k.a. my favorite place in the world).

^^^Hotel Los Héroes – Read more about my last Costa Rica trip here.

We eventually arrived at the Marriott Resort just in time for sunset. After settling into our rooms, we walked down to the ocean (the resort is located on the beach) and took some amazing pictures of the landscape.

JW MARRIOTT BEACH RESORT: GUANACASTE

We had the entire day dedicated to this resort, so we got to wake up whenever we wanted. In an effort to not waste the day away sleeping, we woke up at 8:30 and got breakfast. There was a separate restaurant just for our tour and we had access to it during a certain time frame. When I walked into the buffet, my jaw DROPPED. I have never seen so many pastries, fruits, cereals, eggs, and more in one place. I quickly filled my plate and as much as I wanted to go back for seconds, I was way too full.

We had the entire day to ourselves, so we decided to go for a hike located on the hotel’s grounds. We didn’t see anyone else during the hike, so it was just us and the birds. I got to take pictures of some beautiful birds, but I saw even more wildlife. While we were walking we were shocked to hear some movement above us, and we looked up to see a pack of howler monkeys! They were so calm and didn’t move for quite some time so we were able to observe them closely. One of the monkeys was carrying a baby and I was able to take one of my all-time favorite photos.

After our hike we decided to cool off at the hotel’s infinity pool which overlooked the ocean. I ordered a strawberry banana smoothie (they became my obsession on this trip) and took some time to relax under the sun. After swimming in the pool, we told ourselves we had to jump into the ocean ( I didn’t get to on my last trip), so we ran into the waves for a surprisingly very refreshing swim. The water was a perfect temperature and the sand was so smooth – the best swimming conditions in my opinion. 

While we were on the way to the hotel, Martha mentioned that there were horses only a short distance from the entrance so we decided to go pay them a visit. Our timing was impeccable as the sun was setting, so a beautiful, golden light backlit all of the horses. They came right up to the fence and let us pet them, and one even started to eat my dad’s shirt (it was very amusing). We spent a lot of time with them until it was dark and then we decided to grab dinner and hit the hay.

Our entire group basically had to be pulled away from this resort because between the food and the amenities it was the best hotel we had been at so far.

BIRD WATCHING CRUISE: TARCOLES RIVER We woke up at 5:50 a.m. and grabbed our last, best breakfast. My dad and I “stole” extra bananas and apples from the buffet and ran to the horses with the spare time we had before we boarded the bus. We fed the horses both apples and bananas (they preferred the apples) which made for a pretty magical morning. 

We sadly departed from the Marriott and headed to Tarcoles River, but on the way we stopped at a small, Monteverde restaurant for restrooms and ice cream (yes, I ate ice cream before lunch – it was delicious and only $2). We continued on the road again and stopped at a different restaurant for a buffet-style lunch. We had the choice between steak and chicken with some rice and a few other sides. The restaurant was completely open-concept with a cool breeze coming in on all sides. We even saw some iguanas crawling around outside!

We continued to drive to the river, and when we got there, a boat was waiting for us. This river is known for its crocodiles, so don’t fall overboard! On the cruise we saw birds, iguanas, crocodiles, and more. The directors of the boat tour were able to identify the crocodiles by name based on what they looked like and where they were hanging out which was pretty neat.

The boat tour flew by (it was around an hour long) and we headed out for our next hotel once again. Hotel San Bada had a stunning rooftop view of Manuel Antionio National Park on one side, and the sunset on the beach on the other.

When we arrived we enjoyed another buffet-style dinner and then we went to the roof for “cocktail hour” and the sunset. I brought my camera and managed to see some Squirrel Monkeys climbing through the trees which was so cool because they are difficult to find!

The sunset was absolutely breathtaking and it was paired with some people who were parasailing which made the photos even more exciting.

Before our big day in Manuel Antonio National Park, our Caravan group watched a short video about the history of the park and learned about the trails that we could take. We were told to bring hiking shoes, a change of clothes, a towel, and a bathing suit in order to be able to do everything at the park. Martha said we could sleep in until whenever, but if you want the best experience of the park, you should go right when it opens at 7:00 a.m.

MANUEL ANTONIO NATIONAL PARK We woke up at 6:00 a.m. and ate breakfast at the hotel. We found our group at the entrance of the hotel which is conveniently located a few steps away from the park’s entrance. We chose to take the long route through the park with lots of stairs and lookout spots (I would say this hike was difficult, but an 80 year old woman with our group did it with no problems). During our hike we saw monkeys, agouti, sloths, and some birds. There was a group of Capuchin monkeys that came right up to us (they were so close that I couldn’t even take photos with my lens). In hopes of finding more birds (specifically toucans because they are my favorite), we climbed a lookout tower, but we had no luck.

After our hike we took a quick dip in the water which was a perfect temperature! The park filled up quickly and it seemed like most people went for the water and not for the hikes.

We left the park at 11:30 a.m. to grab lunch at the hotel, and said goodbye to our Caravan group as we were beginning our individual trip. I was the youngest one on the trip and the tour was definitely more orientated for an older crowd, but we made some memories with a lot of the people on the trip so it was a heartwarming goodbye.

INDIVIDUAL EXCURSION

We stayed at San Bada for a little longer to plan out our day on our own, and at 1:00 we taxied to our next hotel which was only around 15 minutes away. Peace of Paradise was a very cute apartment-style hotel which had a balcony with a sliding screen door. 

We later found out why the door was sliding – monkeys had figured out how to open regular push/pull doors and had raided the kitchens for food! I went to take a nap, but I was incredibly surprised when my dad opened my door and told me there were monkeys at the door. I completely thought he was joking, so I dismissed it until he told me to grab my camera (then I knew it was real). I sprung out of bed to find a group of monkeys raiding the neighbors house for sandwiches and eggs. They were so close I was able to use my phone to take photos, and their visit was definitely a highlight of my trip.

After that excitement, we decided to explore the town so we went to a grocery store and picked up some snacks for the next few days. At 6:30 p.m. we decided to find a place for dinner and walked through town to see what our options were. We ended up at Victoria’s – a gourmet Italian place which had absolutely delicious food. I got fettuccine alfredo with chicken and I wish that I could have finished it it was so good. The customer service was the best we’ve ever had, and we were waited on by several people. One waiter, Manny, is a photographer and showed us his photos and shared his Instagram with us – I still follow him! We had a lovely evening at the restaurant and I highly recommend it to anyone in the Manuel Antonio area.

DAY 1: TRAVELING TO DRAKE BAY We woke up at 6:15 a.m. and packed up to leave Peace of Paradise, and one of the employees asked to take our photo in front of the sign for the hotel (they do this for every guest and compile the images on Facebook).

We spent most of the day traveling from Manuel Antonio to the Osa Peninsula where we would be staying in Drake Bay for three nights. We took a small van from the San Bada hotel to Sierpe which was a scenic two-hour ride with palm trees lining both sides of the street.

We arrived at a small restaurant that sits right where the boats to Drake Bay depart and spent two hours there waiting for our boat to be ready. I had some scrambled eggs and a strawberry banana smoothie (what else is new) and worked on some photo editing to kill some time (there was stable WiFi).

Eventually, we loaded the boats which were very crowded (around 30 people), and we had to put our lifejackets on (all of the luggage was stored in the cabin of the boat). The first half of the boat ride was very calm, but it became pretty bumpy when we reached the ocean. In order to dismount the boat, you had to get out into knee-high water and walk to shore because the boats could not go all the way so make sure to wear some sandals. The crew will take care of your luggage for you and will carry it over their heads to shore.

Hotel employees of Cabinas Murillo, the hotel we were planning to stay in, met us on the beach and carried our luggage to a pick up truck. We got inside the truck and they drove us a quick two-minute ride to the hotel. Almost immediately you could feel the heat difference on the Osa Peninsula. Unfortunately this hotel had no A/C (although it had two fans), so the heat easily made its way inside the room. The only way I could cool off was by sitting completely still or taking a cold shower. Sure, the hotel itself wasn’t 5 stars, but the view from our balcony was breathtaking and the price was very affordable. We spent some time cooling down by sitting on our balcony watching birds of all different colors and sizes fly around us. We decided to stay in Drake Bay for a few days because of our love for birding (specifically bird photography in my case), and the Osa Peninsula is renouned for its unique birds.

After finally cooling down, we grabbed lunch at a local place where I got a piece of pizza (I missed pizza) and yet another smoothie. The town in Drake Bay is incredibly cozy, small, and you will see a lot of locals. There are two markets in town that have any food you’ll need during your stay, serveral restaurants, a church, and some tourist-y stores. For dinner we went to a place called La Choza which had some of the best shrimp and rice we have ever eaten. We ended up having this almost every single night for dinner while in Drake Bay because of how delicious it was. The restaurant was always very busy and was a popular destination for many locals.

DAY 2: EXPLORING DRAKE BAY Because our sleep schedules were trained for early mornings we ended up waking up at 6:30 a.m. and grabbed breakfast at one of the local restaurants. I can’t remember the name of the restaurant, but I remember that they had a variety of pastries and a complete breakfast menu. We walked through the town and down to the beach where we ran into some four – legged friends who followed us on our walk through the bay.

We booked a birding tour online the day before (we didn’t exactly expect a response as most people book tours months in advance) and hadn’t heard anything from the company, so we spent some time looking to get in contact with the tour guide. After about an hour of searching, we recieved a phone call that we could do the tour the next day instead. If you are looking to do any type of activity or tour, I would recommend booking in advance to ensure that you’ll have a spot.

With our new free time, we walked some more through the bay (it’s very small), spent time scouting some birds from our balcony, and got ready for an early morning.

DAY 3: BIRDING TOUR

We woke up at 5:00 a.m. (our earliest morning yet) and got ready for our tour with Drake Bay Birdwatching. We packed binoculars, camera gear, water, and a change of shoes. Walter, our tour guide, picked us up at 6:10 a.m. and he explained that we would make a few different stops to see the most diversity.

Our first stop was at an open field lined by trees where we saw hummingbirds, chachalachas, and more. We spent around an hour at the field and even heard some rare birds as well. Walter was incredibly educated on the subject and got so excited when he saw a bird that it made you very excited too. His passion was clear and he was dedicated to helping me get the photos I envisioned.

Our next photo spot was Los Planes which is part of Corcovado National Park, but is more quiet and remote. While we were hiking through Los Planes, we did not see anyone else. In the forest we saw a variety of wildlife including lizards, insects, racers, monkeys, and of course – birds. We trekked through the forest for around 2 hours and stopped at several spots along the way when we heard bird calls or when we saw something moving. There was even a (very rare) chance that we could encounter a jaguar which was exciting and chilling.

After carrying around a 7-pound camera around in the humid forest, I felt a little lightheaded; it could also be the fact that I didn’t eat anything before our tour. Make sure you either eat before a long day of hiking, or you bring a snack along the way to avoid any overexhaustion.

Walter provided us with a snack of watermelon, bananas, and lemonade after Los Planes which were all very fresh. We made a quick stop on our way back to drake bay center to try and see a king vulture, and we did! You couldn’t see it with a bare eye and my 600mm lens barely picked it up, but I managed to get the photo below.

Walter drove us to a restaurant located right near our hotel where we had a scrumptious lunch (appetizers too) that were all included with the tour. Walter offered to drive us back to the hotel, but we opted to walk instead. I was exhausted by the time the tour was done and I ended up napping for a few hours before we grabbed dinner at La Choza again. I would recommend this tour to anyone who is patient and has a passion for wildlife, and if you can have Walter as your guide, his excitement, talent for spotting the wildlife, and his overall knowledge made the tour great. A few weeks after our tour Walter sent us a copy of all of the birds that we observed (heard and saw) during our trip (see photo below).

DAY 4: TRAVELING TO SAN JOSÉ

We woke up at 6:30 a.m. to catch our boat ride back to Sierpe, and from there we took a taxi to Adobe Car Rental in Uvita. We had to stop at a bank on the way because we ran out of colones in Drake Bay because there are no ATMs (make sure you load up on cash before you go to the bay!).

We were a few hours early for our rental car, so we ate brunch at Marino Ballena which was located across the street. I easily spent a lot of time at this restaurant because of the great food, customer service, and WiFi. The owner was from New Jersey and was very friendly and even provided me with the WiFi information (which was a blessing after not having it for a few days). I ate the “American breakfast” with some orange juice which hit the spot! Our car was ready at 12:30 p.m. (a little early!) so we were able to head out to our next hotel. The car ride to the hotel had some great views of the central valley.

Marriott Courtyard in Alajuela was kind of luxurious compared to Cabinas Murillo (but hey – you get what you pay for!). It was nice to finally have a night with A/C tucked under the covers.

DAY 5: HEADING HOME After two, long weeks away from home we were both ready to travel back to Massachusetts (home sweet home). We woke up at 8:00 a.m. and had a very relaxing morning at the Marriott. We went downstairs for breakfast and similar to the JW Marriott in Guanacaste, the buffet was full of scrumptious choices. We had some time to kill before our flight, so we visited the Botanical Orchid Garden in Alajuela for one last adventure.

The garden was unfortunately underwhelming, but it may have been the time of year we went. There were some birds on display, a pretty pond, a unique bamboo trail, and greenhouses full of different types of vegetation. We spent some time taking some photos at the garden and listening to the thundering of massive bamboo hitting each other in the wind before we went on our way to the car rental place to drop off our car.

We got a ride to the airport from the car rental place and we began the journey home. We took two connecting flights to Boston from San José and after a day of travel we got home at 2 a.m..

AN UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE

I know I haven’t travelled much yet, but my experiences in Costa Rica have been some that I wouldn’t change for anything, and this magical place will hold a special place in my heart forever. I’ve seen a lot of Costa Rica, but I haven’t seen it all, so I want to go back and finish my journey one day. The wildlife, people, and landscapes, are all reasons to visit this country. In Costa Rica, I was able to exercise all of my passions, expand my appreciation for nature, and try things outside of my comfort zone (leaving home for two-weeks was certainly a start). 

Trust me, you are going to want to visit this stunning country in order to discover the laid-back nature of living with Pura Vida (Pure Life).

#costarica #caravantour #birding #photography #blogging #travel #travelreview #review

[dieuleveut]

April 14th, 2018

I’m in Los Angeles.

I’ve been here since February 10th. So...a little over two months? People here still consider me new and fresh, and they’re not wrong. I’ve been doing a pretty great job at learning the new geography, all the neighborhoods and freeways.

Let me update you.

I’ve been living with Jordon who went to Bradley University with me. But I’ve been sleeping on an air mattress in his living room. Totally fine, I’m pretty low-maintenance anyway. Except I had told him I did not plan on crashing in his living for any longer than a month and up until now it had been over two months. Cue liar-anxiety. Then we find out that his roommate Drake will be moving in with his girlfriend in May/June and that his room may be up for grabs. I’m super interested and thus I’m staying in this living room, hoping to squat and slide into Drake’s room. Now, Jordon tells me he has a friend from high school who is moving to LA in June that he prefers to live with. Totally fine. Cue apartment-hunting anxiety again.

Now, my work situation. I moved here to do production work, but it doesn’t pay the bills (yet), so I got hired as a server at Tatsu Ramen at the end of February. The pay is pretty darn good. $13/hr and tips are about 1/3rd times the pay and I’m working close to full time. Insurance once I’ve hit 3 months. Almost everybody is really fun and sweet. Emily is the second newest hire and probably someone I can consider a friend (the first I’ve made in LA outside of Jordon!) She let me crash on her couch after a sleep deprived night and Jordon was hosting a loud brunch party. Vince is someone I would recently consider a friend! We’ve been hanging out quite a bit this past weekend and he’s a pleasant person to do stuff with! Sadly, he’s moving to New York City later this week so it kinda explains the accelerated friendship fun.

He came out drinking with me at some bougie place called The Bungalow that charged $15 for a margarita and $9 for a PBR. Emily met up with us after she got off of work and arrived at 1:30am, which apparently is when LA bars decide to close and stop serving alcohol. So slightly drunk Vince and me and stone-cold sober Emily walk down to Santa Monica beach, because I’m drunk and I hadn’t been to the beach in the two months I’ve been in LA. It was pitch black, sand cold as fuck. Vince and I (separately) break the pee seal in the sand dunes. Public urination FTW. We continue walking towards the ocean, I walk ahead of them in a drunk euphoria. I fucking love the ocean. I kick off my shoes and feel the wet, stiff sand under my feet. I only go ankle deep into the water but I’m content. Behind us, it seems like we’re not the only people in the entirety of Los Angeles who like to come to the beach at night. But it’s dark and the lights of the pier make them into indiscernible shadows. The lights also reflected off of the wet sand, like an upside down world mirrored from the pier. I’m wearing Vince’s denim jacket, barefoot and impossibly happy. My friends are taking pictures, laughing and playing in the water. I hope they were as I happy as I was.

Today, we had plans to head to Manhattan Beach. However, Emily backed out, still feeling the after effects of last night. I showered, got dressed. If anything, I would go alone. I don’t mind doing things on my own. It’s a common theme in my life. Then Vince texts me back saying he’s down. I drive to his place and the sweet man brings out a bottle of water for each of us and recommends we eat at a place nearby called The Public School. It’s cute and school themed, though I spent most of my life trying to avoid school themed things. Before meeting up with Vince, I was honestly nervous hanging out one-on-one with him. I just didn’t know who or what to expect outside of the comfort zone of Tatsu or drinking as a social buffer. And to my surprise, he’s actually really easy to hang out with. I don’t feel a need to impress him and yet I feel like I do. Conversation isn’t forced, it in fact flows really smoothly. And we don’t even crutch on Tatsu talk. We talk about hobbies, thoughts on LA and New York, families. Actually. Now that I think about it, we talked a lot about me. Vince and I are going to the Getty Center Museum tomorrow afternoon. I need to remind myself to ask Vince about himself more.

We also went to the Museum of Jurassic Technology yesterday too! That was fucking weird. But mutually agreed the best $8 spent. Cheaper than a can of PBR. They had such weird artifacts...and facts. Miniature models of mobile homes, paintings of the Russian dogs sent to space, a garden with tea and doves. “I can not think of a better person to have done this with,” Vince concluded after we exited (I only mention this part verbatim because people? like? hanging out with me?). We were supposed to finally hit up Manhattan Beach at this point, but I had an appointment to drop off my new apartment deposit and rent so we agreed to take a short intermission as I dropped him off to his apartment.

I arrive at my new apartment, which is located in a beautiful little family neighborhood. It seems like it has great air and it’s quiet. I would be absolutely ecstatic to be moving into this place if it weren’t a 45 minute commute on my way to work. I guess it balances out the 15 minute commute on my way back from work at 3:00am. And it makes me feel a little better that my roommate Hillary would be commuting over an hour. The apartment itself is super spacious and has beautiful hardwood floors and appliances.

We drop off the checks, go through the inspection and we plan on moving in tomorrow. Luckily, I only have the things that I can pack into my car, so I don’t have much to move. Except that Vince is giving me his mattress, bed frame, TV stand and possibly his TV so I have to find some way to move those.

When we finish all the apartment things, Vince calls me and tells me he actually had something come up and that he won’t be able to make the beach with me. Initially I’m disappointed but then I resolve to go anyway alone. That was my plan from the beginning and actually, this day folded pretty well. I got quality time with Vince and I still get to go to the beach. Parking was a bit of a nightmare but I eventually find a really tight spot (and tight as in literally, not in the dudebro connotation).

I get there and I’m in love. The sand between my toes, the wind, the air, the birds and the ocean waves crashing. The sky is completely spotless and blue, save for the occasional aircraft. Even though it’s a beautiful Saturday evening, the beach is pretty spread out and spacious between everyone. I easily find a spot to sit and enjoy the ocean without people close to me and no one in my view of the sunset. 9/10 absolutely would go again, despite the 30-40minute drive. Only glaring negative was the random middle aged guy who started talking to me. I only engaged in conversation once he mentioned he was from Minnesota (how can I turn away a fellow Minnesotan). But this guy talked to me forever, basically until the sun literally went down. Angry face emoji. It’s fine, except I could not tell what he wanted? Was he just being friendly? Was he trying to hit on me? Was he networking? Why me? The answer to that last one (or I guess all of them) is “because you’re a girl alone on the beach.”

I’m writing a lot. I’m aware. But one last thing I should catch you up on is Jun. He comes last because I honestly have mixed feelings about him. So we had a bit of a pre-dating thing going. You know, where the two of you flirt and are hyperaware when y’all brush up against each other and stuff? We were drinking after work at Emily’s place with a few other coworkers and after everything died down, we crashed on her couch. We stayed up talking for another couple hours, stroking hands and touching until he gets up and kisses me. I’m fucking giddy because I’m kissing Jun and Jun is kissing me. He puts a hand on my breast and starts playing with my nipple, which I put an immediate stop to because fucking Josh (one of our coworkers) is sleeping on the floor near us and Jun’s got me physically wanting to climb him like a tree.

The next night we both work together again and he invites me to come back to his place. We sit and chat for a while over a couple beers before picking up where we left off the night before. I want to keep the dirty deets to myself but in a nutshell, we fucked three times. I came once, which honestly surprised me because it took me a hell of a long time to come with Matt. Jun and I also did it three times without protection. Which yes dear reader, I know it’s fucking stupid and this is the second guy I’ve done that with; having gotten caught up in the moment and just submitting to the moment without caring about the consequences. But both times I eventually convinced myself to take Plan B. I also know that Plan B is not a form of birth control. I still have two months worth of the pill from when I was dating Matt, but I won’t start them unless I’m consistently sexually active. No point in fucking with my hormones if I’m only smashing once in a blue moon. So yes, I went out and bought condoms. A girl will be prepared, even if she hates condoms.

Anyway, Jun. He tells me he doesn’t want anything serious. He tells me he’s going out for drinks with a girl the next night. Twice now he’s been too tired to hang out after work (which is definitely warranted because we’re both up til 3-4am every fucking night closing at Tatsu). As far as it looks, doesn’t seem like any more than a one and done. Which is a bummer. I could mentally/emotionally prepare for a no-strings-attached deal, I just wanted to be with Jun in some capacity but it seems like once we smashed, he didn’t want the same. I can hear my mom’s voice saying some shit like “Guys only want one thing and once they get it they’re out.” First of all, everyone has a fluid amount of sexual drive but everyone also has emotional needs and connections with people. I could easily fuck and chuck Eric from Peoria and be exactly the kind of “guy” my mom thinks guys are. But then there was fucking Ravi who I fucked one time and the guy would not leave me alone. He relentlessly messaged me on Facebook, found my Instagram, Snapchat? Some guys don’t just fuck once and leave, some stick around for more. It’s dependent. Which is why is sucks that the situation with Jun is what it is. But looking at “fate” or whatever, it makes sense. There were just small instances where I felt like I was being told, “hey this isn’t meant to happen.” Things that are meant to happen will be pushed in the right direction. Like today with Vince and the beach. Life told me that I should hang out with Vince by getting lunch and experiencing The Museum of Jurassic Technology, and then it told me that Manhattan Beach is just for me.

Despite my lack of romantic success, I feel good. Things seem to be falling into the right place at the right times. I have an apartment, I have people who I enjoy being with and doing stuff with. I have someone who believes in my skills and my potential (Vince, who has been pushing for my promotion at Tatsu and providing me some serious support.) Everything that will be will be.

---

1:34am (technically April 15th)

I just remembered something that Vince told me last night at the Bungalow that I want to write down for my fragile ego’s sake:

“Apparently you have a fan base at Tatsu. I had a customer come in yesterday and ask me ‘is Juliet working tonight? I have some friends I want to bring in to meet her, is she working this weekend?”

Vince couldn’t tell me the name or face of the guy who asked but I am beyond thrilled/happy/giddy that a CUSTOMER knows my name, my face and LIKES me enough to want to have his friends meet me *flips hair.* As someone who obsessively checks the Yelp reviews for mentions of a “cute helpful Asian waitress” or my actual name, this will be an integral part of my self-esteem :)

[pixiealtaira]

Birthday Gifts

In honor of my youngest turning 18 (still have to get the boy through his last year of high school...convincing him this does not make him totally an adult is a bit of effort...ugh!)...here is a little tale to celebrate.

Pairing: None....a Kurt Hummel and Elliot and Dani friendship fic.

Seriously, the best thing about Kurt’s birthday that first year was that NYADA had had their finals two weeks before, but the Summer sessions did not start up again until the next week.   He had one more week before he spent several weeks straight being tortured by Cassie July in an effort to catch up and be ready for intermediate dance for stage. He had tap and Jazz and ballet and lyrical and hip-hop and street and Latin dance and ballroom techniques and…he was going to die.  He also had the rest of vocal techniques, drama year one, script analysis and, of all things, English 101.  All shoved into June, July and half of August.  So, yeah, the best part of his birthday was that he was on his summer break!

Rachel was insisting that the fact his birthday was on Memorial Day was the best thing…but Kurt did not agree.  

Kurt wasn’t home in Lima. He would not be visiting the graveyard to place flowers at his mother’s grave and at the gravesite of his Dad’s friend, who’d been in the Air Force in ’91 and had been in Desert Storm…or the gravesite of Harmon, who worked at the garage when Kurt was little and taught Kurt how to do Elvis’s hips and died of Lung Cancer and who had served in Vietnam and held his friend’s hand as he died in his arms. And his friend was named Marius Rossi and was from New York and one of the other guys had wanted to be an actor who acted in Musicals, on Broadway like Kurt wanted, and would tease Marius by singing ‘Maria, I’ve found a girl named Maria’ until Marius shut him up by kissing him right smack on the lips…and that guy had died too but Harmon hadn’t been close enough to him to hold his hand.  Kurt hoped his dad remembered to put the extra flowers at Harmon’s grave for Marius and their friend.  Kurt wasn’t home for the evening barbeque with the guys from the shop and the Memorial Day Poker and Darts tournament that happened in the backyard if the weather was nice or in the house garage if it was nasty outside.   He wasn’t home to make enough during this evening to fund half his summer wardrobe…mostly because both poker and darts were played better when sober.  His traditional Memorial Day activities were not an option.

Blaine had chosen to go to California and spend the weekend with Cooper…and take Sam with him…instead of visiting Kurt.  He also told Kurt that he wouldn’t be calling or anything until he was back to Ohio because he couldn’t figure out the time zone thing without giving himself a headache and he didn’t want Kurt to call him because he wasn’t sure when he’d be in while at Cooper’s.  They planned on spending most of their time out and about, after all they wouldn’t have time for FUN while in LA for Nationals. He’d not said Happy Birthday before he left, nor had he sent any gift of any sort. Kurt wasn’t even sure Blaine remembered he had a birthday.  Blaine had plenty of time for social media though, and he remembered all about sending pictures of him and Sam at the beaches and Disneyland to the Dalton Facebook group.

And New York during Memorial Day was nuts.   The whole weekend had been nuts. Everyplace was too crowded with people going and trying to do things while they had time off. Friday night at callbacks had been so packed Kurt felt faint from lack of air and that had just been that start.  He worked at the diner on Saturday and they never had a pause.  There had been a line at least 15 people long out the door of the place for seven full hours! Sunday was so bad on the subway when they went out that Kurt ended up bruised and had clothing torn.  And the amount of people trying to grill in places where one should NOT grill was insane.  It was NUTS!  They had heard almost non stop sirens for most of Saturday night and it hadn’t stopped.   Between his feet hurting from work and then Rachel’s Day At Central Park (a non-stop complaint fest due to lack of ‘good’ space for the blanket he dragged through the subway and then halfway through the park for her) and the sirens, Kurt wanted nothing more to do for HIS birthday than sit home, maybe with ear plugs in, put his feet up and watch HIS choice of movie and eat HIS choice of takeout.   He’d like to do it with friends…or at least not alone.  He was willing to do many things…as long as he didn’t have to leave the loft or be subject to packed spaces with no breathing room and which endangered his feet more.  Board game tournament?  He could do that.  A karaoke party…doable as long as it was at the loft.  He didn’t think he was being too picky.

He hadn’t stopped hearing about his plans…or lack thereof…since he voiced them after Rachel woke him at 6:00 am to find out what ‘grand adventure’ he wanted to embark upon.   Rachel…who had stolen his earplugs to block out the sirens all night long so she could get her beauty rest and preserve her ‘more important than anyone else’s’ delicate and ever so sensitive ears…and thus slept all night long woke him up…on HIS birthday...hadn’t been pleased at all when he said he wanted to stay in, maybe have a grand adventure at the loft.   She whined and then yelled and then stomped her foot. And then demanded he get up and make birthday pancakes since he was being a ‘self-centered pig wrapped in a blanket’ which she then laughed like a hyena over.  Yeah.  All it had done was cement his desire to stay the heck home.

Rachel and Santana had finally left to ‘go out and do something’ since they didn’t want to sit around being a downer all day and didn’t care how crushing it was outside…and why should they let him decide the activity for that day anyway…Kurt’s birthday or not.  Home was finally quiet. He was getting ready to pop in his Pity Party movie instead of something celebratory, because…the girls chose ‘fun’ and ‘excitement’ over friendship, again.  He did have his choice of take-out, though, so it wasn’t a total miss.

He wasn’t expecting a knock on the loft door…or for the ones knocking to just left themselves in.

Food halfway to his mouth, he turned just in time to put the fork back onto his plate before he was ambush hugged by Dani, who then removed the plate from his hands and passed him off to Elliot.

“So…we heard that it was your Birthday.  Of course we also heard you were being a party pooper and didn’t want to go out.” Dani said.

“So, we might have done a bit of calling around and…” Elliot added.

“You have about a half hour to change into something wonderful and fabulous before your party comes to you!  Eat on the run!” Dani finished, pushing him off towards his room after handing him his plate again.

“And we promise no one will try to barbeque anything!” Elliot shouted before tasking other members of the band different jobs…like quick clean up and pushing furniture around and putting the dessert table and drink tables together.

Dani followed after him. “Eat, Kurt.  You’ll get a belly ache if you just drink and eat sweets with us at your party.  Then shower and I’ll have something waiting for you to put on.”

Kurt ate quickly while gathering the basics to take into the bathroom with him…underwear and his towels. Dani wouldn’t release anything else to him.

He showered and was about to start doing his hair when Dani barged in and dragged him back to the bedroom area, whistles and catcalls from the other band members following in his wake. Kurt was pretty sure he saw the band gear going up in one of the corners and his movie was playing in the back ground as the others worked, snippets of song floating back to Dani and the waiting clothing.

“The top first and then I’ll do your hair while you finish getting dressed.” Dani demanded, pointing to the ¾ sleeved white Henley sitting on the bed.  

Kurt got the shirt on and had barely pulled it all the way down when he felt hands full of mousse running through his hair.  He sighed and reached for the pants.

“These aren’t something I own.” Kurt said, holding the leather pants that laced up the legs.

“Well, now you do. Happy Birthday.  I decided you needed clubbing clothing and Elliot chose these so they could double as ‘Rock Dude!’ if we want to try something a bit more extreme at some point.”

“Rock dude?” Kurt asked and sounded quite dubious.

“What?  You could totally do Freddy Mercury if you gave yourself a chance, not to mention some of the newer rocky stuff.”

Kurt tilted his head. “I could try.”

“Well, try later. People other than us will be here soon.” Dani said.

Kurt managed to get the pants on and properly fastened up and was adding to the outfit a black velvet sleeveless waistcoat that Kurt thought screamed Pirate or something.

“This is also an Elliot choice,” Kurt said fastening the front.  “I can tell. It has a very steampunk vibe to it.  I think it will become a favorite though, it is very comfortable. Dani?  What are you doing?”

Dani just chuckled and pushed Kurt back until he was sitting on the bed again.  

“I’m not really an eyeliner type of a guy” Kurt protested as his makeup was skillfully done in very little time.

“You look amazing.” Dani said, dragging him to look in the mirror over the chest of drawers.

Kurt smiled.  He did look pretty good.  It wasn’t at all his usual look, but he could certainly appreciate it and he’d definitely be willing to repeat the look to go out another time.

“Damn.  If there weren’t going to be so many other here, I’d totally tell you to go barefooted all evening.  You look delicious with bare feet.” Dani said.  “Unfortunately I cannot guarantee the safety of your toes…nor your virtue if Elliot saw you like that.  I suggest black boots probably.”

Kurt chuckled.  “I’ve got those covered.  Biker boots be too much?  Or would riding boots look better?”

“Like English riding boots?” Dani asked.  “Those…I think.”

Kurt finished the look after getting his feet covered by adding a pocket watch on a chain and a blood red silk scarf and finally convincing Dani that piercing his ears needed to wait at least another year or so because his dad would flip out completely if he did so and there had been too many health scares to do that to him yet.

He finished dressing just in time.  The first knock on his loft door was followed by a steady stream on knocking.  People he knew from NYADA were gathering as well as people from Vogue.com and people he’d met through work at the diner and through Elliot and Dani.  The counter space was quickly filled with goodies like cakes and cookies and other sweet treats and other snacks like nuts and chips. One of the guys Elliot introduced Kurt to had set up a small bar off to one corner and was fixing drinks and handling sodas and bottled water as well.   His movie had been restarted and a few people had settled in front of the TV on beanbags he was certain he did not own, while other people danced in the open middle area to the music produced by a small mix station that Kurt knew wasn’t there before he’d gone to shower.  The DJ was a girl who skated with Dani.  The music wasn’t too loud, great for dancing to but not loud enough to make it impossible for those watching the movie to hear it. Half in Rachel’s ‘room’ was a small table set up where people were playing cards and the band’s gear was set up so people would sing later. On the edge of the stage was a pile of gifts. Everyone there seemed to be having fun and Kurt was having a blast.  

Someone had procured a large sheet cake with ‘Happy Birthday, Kurt!’ scrawled across the top and music notes in a rainbow of colors scattered over it as the rest of the decoration.  It was vanilla cake with a raspberry filling and a slightly lemony flavored icing.  

“Do you like it?” Dani asked.

“I love it.” Kurt said, finishing his slice.  Elliot had made him blow out candles before serving the cake and Kurt couldn’t help but smile as everyone sang to him.

“Santana said you were very picky about chocolate cake but liked white cakes with fruit fillings pretty well, and I thought just plain flavored icing was boring.”

“You asked her today?” Kurt asked.

Dani giggled.  “Oh no.  All we heard from them today was when Rachel called to complain that you were being mean.  I texted her and Santana that we were going to be here at the loft this evening and to come join us here, but neither answered. No, I asked way back around Easter time, but then you made us cheesecake for Easter.”

Kurt smiled.  The fact Dani had remembered that long and thought about what he’d like made him even happier.

After the cake Elliot and the band set up and offered their services for karaoke…which was done for about an hour and half before someone suggested a name that song competition. Kurt put up his laundry money as payout…in two dollar wins.  Chase’s boyfriend was the big winner, much to Chase’s surprise.  He won 12 of the 25 rounds.

Kurt opened gifts right before midnight and people went back to dancing to the DJ for about another hour after that as the party died down and people started to wander out.  As the majority of people were leaving right around 2am, Kurt made sure to be at the door, thanking them all for showing up.

He looked back to his loft as he shut the door after the last group to leave other than the band and Dani and Elliot.  The floor was clean, all the trash picked up and sacked up to be taken down to the dumpster, and Elliot and the other band members were moving the furniture back while Dani set his kitchen to rights. There wasn’t really anything left for him to do.  The beanbags were piled in the corner, the drummer informing him they were there to stay. Kurt watched and thought that all in all, he had some awesome friends after all, just not the ones he had been counting on.

“You guys are amazing.” Kurt blurted out.

Elliot laughed, and tossed the throw pillow onto the perfectly replaced sofa before coming over to gather Kurt into a hug.

“Happy Birthday, Kurt. There was no way we were going to leave you to celebrate by yourself.  Not for your 20th.  Next year we will be going out though.  I’m taking you bar hopping!  Your other half will just have to stay home and pout.  Too bad he couldn’t make it up for your birthday though.  It would have been a great weekend for him to come visit. Rachel said he was too swamped with school though.”

Kurt snorted. “Blaine might be swamped with school, but the reason he didn’t come visit for the weekend, even though I called and asked him to come, was because he decided Sam needed to see California and spend time doing fun stuff there before they went back for Nationals in a week.  They needed some ‘bro’ time at his brother’s place so they could handle the rest of the year without getting too down, it’s been sooo hard on them, you know.  At least he told me he was heading out with Sam to see Cooper and Disneyland before I bought him the ticket to come see me this time.”

“So, what did he send to make up for missing your birthday?” Dani asked.

“Nothing.” Kurt said. “He probably forgot.”

Elliot just hugged him tighter.  “Well then, I guess coming bearing gifts and a party was even more necessary. You had a good time, right?  I know we sort of sprang it on you.”

Kurt hugged back and kissed his cheek. “I had a blast.  I honestly think this might have been my best birthday yet.  Thank you so much, you guys.”

Dani pulled him out of Elliot’s arms into her own and kissed him soundly. “You are always welcome. Honestly, everyone I talked to had fun as well.  We might have to do this more often.  The loft is perfect for gatherings like this.  With summer coming up maybe we can put together parties more often.  Like for Flag day!”

“June is National Accordion Awareness month!” the girl who played the bass and keyboard said.

“Really?” Kurt asked

She nodded.  “We could play polkas and learn to polka and then have a Weird Al name that song contest!”

“We should really do a Pride month celebration….either a get ready for Pride or a Pride recovery party.” Elliot said.

“I wouldn’t mind at all if we can always get the place back to it’s normal as quickly as you all did tonight.  Thank you so much for doing that. Last time we did something like this I was trying to get things back to normal for weeks…Rachel and Brody moved stuff but they did NOT help put it to rights.  Some of our furniture does not move easily by just one person.”

Their drummer laughed. “Anytime time you need help moving stuff around just call. We cannot risk you throwing your back out just when we are getting regular gigs.”

“I’ll remember that. You might be sorry you offered.” Kurt said.

“Just have some of those cookies you had at practice last week as pay.” He said with a dreamy sigh.

The keyboardist and sometimes bassist and the other guitarist laughed.  “It was a lot more fun that going out tonight.  Dani was so right about that.  I was disappointed we didn’t perform more though.” One of the girls said.

“Nah.  I think the fact we performed once was enough. Everyone there who hadn’t heard us before now might want to come see us at the next gig.” The other replied. “We left them wanting.”

“And we play Thursday Night.” Kurt said.  “Elliot got us this one.”

“I’ll text everyone tomorrow a set list, after sleep…and work and class.  Which I’d better getting going to so I can make it to see all of those.”

Kurt was passed to the rest of the band members for hugs as well as they left.  He looked back to the loft and the movie which had been turned on again as everyone cleaned up.  He wandered to the kitchen to get some water before he headed off to bed and wondered when Santana and Rachel would make it home.  He knew Elliot had texted them again before midnight but neither had answered. If they were doing their usual though, Santana would get Rachel to stay out till one or two, especially if they’d found someone to buy them drinks.  Kurt was the one that headed home early.

There were several pieces of cake left on a plate in the refrigerator. Other than the bean bags and the gifts he hadn’t yet moved to his bedroom, the pieces of cake were the only evidence left out saying they had had a party at the loft.

He gathered the gifts still left out and took them with him to his bedroom, shutting off the TV and most the lights.  He wasn’t waiting up.  Tucking his loot away on top of his dresser, Kurt stripped down and hung everything that didn’t need washed up.  He showered and settled into bed.

He had managed to eat HIS choice of takeout.  He had seen at least some of HIS choice of movie…and better yet others had enjoyed it as well.  He’d even managed to play a round of poker, even if he hadn’t won.  And really, the loft was good for lots of things but it wasn’t really good for darts when crowded but he’d played other games.  So he didn’t end up putting his feet up…he also never had to leave the safety of loft and deal with crowded venues.   All in all, Kurt couldn’t complain at all. The three he’d counted on coming through for him…you know, the ones who promised to be there through thick or thin…failed him on his day, but not everyone did.  And it was nice to know that he had friends who would be there for him, even if they weren’t the ones he expected.

The best part of the first birthday in New York was knowing he had somewhere along the way managed to make friends who would come through for him, despite the roadblocks the friends from Lima who promised to always be there for him kept throwing up.  And that wasn’t something to take lightly.

#glee fanfic #Kurt Hummel #elliot gilbert #Dani