#but if they weren't easy access I would still buy them

[drasnianfrank]

Twenty Books Challenge

Hypothetically, you are only able to keep 20 of your books. Only one book per author/series. So what books are you keeping? Credit due to @the-forest-library (I have been thinking about this list for like a week straight)

Guardians of the West by David and Leigh Eddings - any of the Belgariad/Mallorean series frankly. I read these series I don't know how many times as teen. Yes, they are a problematic. Yes they are trope-y as hell but I love them.

Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold - inching just barely above Miles in Love or Mountains of Mourning.

Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison - This is a book that always makes me cry.

Whale Talk by Chris Cutcher - A swim team comprised of various kids with disabilities and are deeply flawed but are also attempting to do good things? I wish this was on every book list for teens.

All Systems Red (Murderbot Diaries) by Martha Wells - I mean all murderbot series is great. Funny story, I told my mom to read this book eons ago and she only read it after a librarian recommended it.

Return of the King by JRR Tolkien - though technically LotR is one book and I don't have single copies of this anymore. But the scouring of the shire just hits me in different places when I read it.

A Child's Anthology of Poetry edited by Elizabeth Hauge Sword and Victoria Flournoy McCarthy - My textbook of poetry when I was young.

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr - Another a book that makes me absolutely sob.

The Realms of the Gods by Tamora Pierce - I love the Wild Magic Series the most of all Pierce's series. And yes, I recognize the problematic relationship. But also, talking badger.

Sabriel by Garth Nix - I'm sorry the far superior goth necromancer with bells.

First Truth by Dawn Cook - If had I pick one of the truth series. I have an unnatural fondness of a book series that combines magic with Punnett Squares.

Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Narrowly above Midsummer Night's Dream. But the tomorrow speech is an absolute banger.

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot - Any of the Herriot books. I read these almost to pieces.

Double Whammy by Carl Hiassen - It was this or Squeeze Me. But Skink really deserves to saved.

House of Leaves by Mark Z Danielewski - Post Modern Horror.

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein - More Poetry of my childhood.

Dark Tales by Shirley Jackson - specifically The Possibility of Evil.

Daredevil vol 6 by Mark Waid, Chris Samnee - Graphic Novels count and I will fight you. This has one of the first individual issues I picked up.

Sandman vol. 8: World's End by Neil Gaiman, Micha Allred - Sandman holds a near and dear place in my heart. It was a close call between this and American Gods or Preludes and Nocturnes. But I will have echoes of Crements in my head.

Hawkeye vol. 4: Rio Bravo by Matt Fraction, David Aja - Pizza Dog! Also any of the volumes are fantastic and visually gorgeous.

I did take the prompt literally, but here are five more books I either always buy on kindle/can only get as an ebook. I would pay an extraordinary amount of money for these in print.

Toad Words and other stories by T Kingfisher - I was following her when she was still writing fantasy!

I Reap You Not by Catelyn Winona - Second Person done right.

True Porn Clerk Stories by Ali Davis - This causes me to giggle, rage, and cry.

The Heiress Effect by Courtney Milan - Brothers Sinister series is the standard I compare all Regency Novels to.

Night Shift by Stephen King - Specifically Quitter's Inc. But frankly any collection of Stephen King is gold.

Tagging @thatoldstandby, @msfehrwight, @raventycho, @timemachineyeah, @theneptuneviolin and anyone else. And of course you can include pictures too.

#book list #tagging all the people #this was so hard guys #how could I choose which child is best #and I didn't even include manga #I did cheat a little because some of these books are spread between two buildings #but if they weren't easy access I would still buy them

[certaincollectionlandblog]

F1 Drivers I believe would have a plus size girlfriend part 2

I have no true evidence to back up these theories, but going strictly off of vibes. I am convinced our bros would be down to date some plus size queens, especially some tall ones ;) Please feel free to leave feedback below!

All photos are from Pinterest!

Lewis Hamilton

Hear me out y'all like just look at this adorable man and his even more adorable dog

His loves Roscoe's rolls and he is sure to love yours too

Look into that man's eyes and tell me he isn't made of sweet love and kindness; that's right you can't

Lewis already loves to wear oversized clothes and he makes sure to buy some in sizes that work for you too so that you can borrow them anytime you want

This man is nothing short of a gym rat, but given his job as a professional F1 driver that's honestly expected because he's got to stay on top of his game to be safe

Lewis feels like the type to date someone who is plus sized, even a tall plus sized woman queen, but I do feel like Lewis would love to have someone who also led a somewhat active lifestyle

before anyone says anything there are plus size people who are active and people have the right to have preferences about the people they want in relationships

Sometimes after a long day you and Lewis spend time in bed and you like to trace all of his tattoos

Lewis and you are a very social couple; unlike most of the other guys who give off more private but not secret relationships I think that you and Lewis would have your fair share of social media presence as a couple

This man worships you on and off of social media

Lewis loves cuddling with you; your soft curves and warm embrace makes him feel like he's snuggling with a cloud

Lewis seems like the type of man to walk up behind you and regardless of your height to wrap his arms around your waist and just give you hugs from behind constantly

I can't really explain it, but I feel like Lewis is such an ass man

He loves when your in leggings or short shorts; however he adores when you're wearing dresses because it allows for easy access

Lewis seems like the kind of guy to go absolutely feral on you at some points and I feel like he would literally lick any stretch marks you have while holding eye contact

Honey at that point if you weren't flowing like the Nile river you might want to reevaluate some things

He loves the contrast between his hard body and your soft comfy body

I think that Lewis would love to take you out at various places across the world when you're together, but that he also would love some nights in with you cooking dinner and watching a movie together because even as social as you two are you both need some days to recharge

Lando Norris

okay I must admit that at first I didn't think that Lando would date a plus size woman, but the more I thought about it and watched interviews with Lando and such I think I had previously judged him too soon

Lando is a sweetheart; he is always stopping to take time to meet kids and this man just seems like he has a heart of gold

I think that if Lando were to date a plus size lady that he would be very much like George were you're not "Lando's plus size gal" or that he sees you as bigger; he just sees you as Y/N his girl

I think that Lando would loves showing you off

Lando has been very social with his past relationships before and I have no reason to believe that he wouldn't be that way with you

Lando is very much a boob man; I don't believe in any other suggestions

Even if you were a member of the itty bitty titty committee Lando would still love them because boobs are boobs baby

He loves to see you wear his merch like this man becomes feral from that alone

I am saying it right now I feel like Lando not only has a choking kink, but I get the vibe that he has a breeding kink as well

Lando can barely keep his hands to himself! I mean how can be expected to when you look like that

It's no secret that once you and Lando have a single drop of alcohol in y'alls system that y'all are all over each other

Lando loves seeing you with kids and all he can picture is how you would be the perfect mother with your caring heart and not going to lie the idea of you pregnant with his baby stirs something in him

He loves to play video games together and he even gets y'all matching sweat suits because this man is such a simp for you

This man is constantly taking pictures of you and often shares them on his social media, however we can't dismiss the fact that not all of those photos would be safe for all audiences

His loves to have a hand on you constantly

There is no doubt about this man's love language being physical touch

Lando loves to see you all dressed up because he loves knowing that he's the only who gets to see what's under it all

#f1 #f1 blurb #f1 smut #f1 x reader #f1 drabble #lewis hamilton #lewis hamilton x reader #lewis hamilton smut #lando norris #lando norris x reader #lando norris x y/n #lando norris smut

[rans-baby]

highschool staff!bonten x milf teacher!reader

tw // nsfw, ruler play????

they all saw you walk into the school building one day in that tight little pencil skirt and found you were a teacher there

they decided that maybe it was time to give back to the youth, really teach them the important things in life ♡

quickly picked up that your favorite outfits consisted of tight pencil skirts and personally kaku and rin's favorite, sundresses

you introduced yourself to them and told them to let you know if they had any questions, and they made sure to take advantage of that

"where was the bathroom again?" "do you have extra markers?" "i locked myself out do you think you can help me?"

love dropping shit and asking you to pick it up to stare at your ass

mikey would have your son in his class and always asks if you and his dad were still together (not that it'd make a difference to him)

ran was the first to make a move though, trapping you in between classes

"can't stop thinking about that ass pretty girl, give me one taste. promise i won't tell anyone"

told literally everyone

that's when the competition starts

they all love smacking your ass whenever the opportunity arises and will have weekly tallies

haruchiyo loves to play the role of the innocent bunny but will be the one to do the nastiest shit with the sweetest smile on his face

"but i just love this ruler so much, think it'd look so good in that pretty pussy no? do it for me♡"

rindou is obsessed with you in sundresses, loves the easy access it gives him and loves how flustered you get when he flips up your skirt

"you were trying to drive me crazy all day weren't you?"

manjiro loves when you cockwarm him in the classroom where anyone can walk in

"stop squirmin' baby, i can't grade like this or do you want your son to fail?"

takeomi gets so hard when he has you in his lap

particularly loves when you inhale the smoke from his mouth and start coughing with tears in your eyes

"aw daddy can make you feel better, just gotta bend over for me baby"

kokonoi will buy you the prettiest jewelry, his favorite? that diamond encrusted choker with a small k on it

"gotta keep my tight little throat warm when i'm not around to put my hands on it"

will take the liberty of shopping for you, and will progressively buy you skimpier clothing but your sweet koko is just thinking of you, so of course you wear it!

kakucho is another one that prefers when you wear sundresses

thinks it makes you look so pretty and likes when you turn around to greet him with that pretty smile, dress fluttering around you

"so pretty in this dress princess, wanna see that pretty smile every morning" he's so sweet i love him so much

kakucho wins almost every week because he knows how much you like being his good girl and will go out of his way to leave his handprints on your ass to make it clear that he won

another shoutout to @megumi-divine for giving me this idea i love u sm adri ♡

#tokyo revengers x reader #tokyo revengers #bonten x reader #ran haitani x reader #ran x reader #rindou x reader #rindou haitani x reader #sanzu x reader #mikey x reader #takeomi x reader #kokonoi x reader #kakucho x reader

[albeitinzane]

my top surgery recovery tips

alrighty gang! im one week post op and i have tips for anyone who might need them in the future. this is likely prone to be updated/reblogged with more tips in the future once i'm further in recovery.

keep in mind that even a day after surgery i was pretty mobile and was able to do most things by myself, so these tips may not be as helpful for older trans people who would be slower to bounce back, people who are chronically ill or disabled and already have trouble with movement or surgical recovery, or just other people who don't recover as quickly. different bodies will react differently to surgery.

i also have surgical drains, which not all surgeons will provide (but my surgeon gives them to all top surgery patients). they will have quite a few tips of their own because they're annoying to manage.

and lastly, i had double incision top surgery, but i didn't get nipple grafts. if you do have nipple grafts, you have to wait 2 weeks to shower instead of just 2 days, since the grafts can't get wet.

get lots of zip ups, button ups, and oversized shirts or tank tops.

for the first few days, you won't be able to reach your arms high enough to put a shirt on; at least, not without help, and it's very annoying to do. the best option is to get button-ups or zip-ups with wide shoulders that are easy to pull on. bathrobes are really nice too.

if the hospital doesn't provide you with gauze, it's good to buy some (and some waterproof medical tape to keep it there).

while i didn't need gauze after a few days to cover up the scars because they had glue protecting them, one of my drain sides leaked quite a bit, and it got super itchy if it wasn't cleaned up right away. if there was gauze soaking up the leaks before it got too far, it really cut down the itchiness, and made for less mess i had to clean up (which is its own annoying and uncomfortable process)

make sure you have sweatpants or baggy/comfortable pants on hand; stuff that you don't need a belt to wear.

putting on pants is a pain in the ass, so you won't want to have to change them constantly. it's good to have comfortable pants you can wear for a while without wanting or needing to change them. i have a lot of pajama pants and they have been my best friend.

put anything you need to access daily on a lower shelf.

most of my bathroom stuff is in a 3 shelf mirror cabinet, and while everything i needed was on either the first or second shelf, the second shelf was still annoying, painful, and difficult to reach. putting everything on an easily accessible shelf level or setting them lower (though not on the floor because bending down to pick stuff up is also annoying) is way easier.

baby wipes. so many baby wipes.

generally speaking, your skin will be sore but you won't feel it when you touch it because of nerve damage that just comes with surgery. but it's still really sensitive in areas that weren't operated on, so cleaning up any mess with baby wipes (especially if you got grafts and can't shower) which are soft on your skin but good at removing residue or anything sticky is very useful. they've saved me so many times when i had drainage leaks.

cough drops.

after surgery, you're likely going to have a sore throat because of anesthesia. it's good to have some cough drops or tea on hand to soothe it.

make a mini beside table (BEFORE SURGERY!) with any nighttime items or pain medication.

i had a little nighttime stand with snacks, my pain medication, water, my tablet and phone, and a charger. this made it very easy to get anything i needed without potentially having to get up and walk into another room to get whatever i needed instead.

make sure you're with a friend or relative who you're comfortable with seeing you exposed and who's able to take time off to help you with anything.

even with my mobility, there was still a good handful of things i couldn't do by myself that i needed help with. i often needed help getting dressed, i can't do dishes, i can't cook for myself, and early on, i was often so sore that i needed help getting out of bed. having someone you trust to help you do any of this is essential, but that's true for almost any surgery.

get a belt that can get wet.

if you have drains, but no grafts, and you want to shower, you're going to want a belt to attach your drains to while you shower. having them hang free is very anxiety-inducing (at least, for me), so you might not be able to clean up as well with a belt on, and it might feel really uncomfortable, but it's better than having them swing free and potentially get pulled out too early.

stay safe everyone, and happy recovery for everyone getting top surgery!

edit: if anyone who's also had top would like to reblog with their own tips, i'll be sure to reblog them!

#top surgery #trans pride #transmasculine #transmasc #transgender #trans artist #trans joy #trans positivity #plastic surgery #surgery #double mastectomy #zane talks trans

[robin-the-enby]

Téir abhaile 'riú

Pairing: Bofur x f!reader

Summary: After Smaug took over The Lonely Mountain, Bofur and his relatives travelled far to find a new home. Although knowing it would never be the same as the place where he grew up, meeting who the dwarf could only describe as the love of his life could make things more bearable.

Warnings: slight mention of alcohol, no beta we die like men, overbearing sibling

A/N: I don't even know how, but suddenly I am very much in The Hobbit fandom again. And while listening to this playlist, I came up with this cute idea! I hope you'll like it!

It has been a few years since Smaug took over Erebor, a wound still fresh in the hearts of many dwarven families. But dwarves were resilient folk and so when a portion of them came across The Blue Mountains, they quickly set to build a settlement there, knowing that their ancestors used to live in these mountains as well.

And while nothing could ever compare to Erebor, the dwarven settlers were happy with what they've build for themselves. The Blue Mountains were a great oppoturnity to start anew. With everything needed for all kinds of businesses to prosper in near vicinity, they quickly adapted to their new home, the memory of the great kingdom becoming a fond, but somewhat painful echo in their hearts.

It was truly a place of abundance. With the mountains themselves towering over their roofs, they were surrounded by thick and calm woods that seemed ancient. And if one wanted to, they could simply get all the way down to the seaside.

It also helped that they weren't the only ones who found their home in the embrace of the mountain range. There were many elven habitants in the woods and even human settlers scattered all around, making trading goods easy and accessible.

But it is true that the dwarves usually stuck by each other, venturing into other settlements only for business. The tragedy that struck them still hung around them like a thick fog and they didn't particularly enjoy all the whispers around them when they did make an appearance somewhere.

Bofur wasn't any different than his kin in this sense. While the dwarf liked to remain optimistic, being constantly reminded of what they had gone through everywhere they went was...unpleasant. Luckilly, as time went on, the commotion slowly faded and the dwarves blended into the rest of the habitants of The Blue Mountains.

Once a year, a big festival was held near the seaside, in the biggest human town in the area. Granted, it wasn't nowhere near the cities elves, dwarves, even some humans were used to, but nobody really minded, since The spring festival meant not only good music and fun all day and night, but also a big fair and since all races came and celebrated together on this rare occassion, it was a good oppoturnity to gain clientele.

The spring festival was an event the people in the port town held as a celebration of their sailors returning safely home from their travels during the winter. What started as a local event quickly grew into something much bigger though. Everyone wanted to meet the local heroes, hear their stories and most importantly, have fun.

And that's why Bofur and his brother were helping their families and neighbours pack and load all the things they wanted to sell at the fair onto carts, prepare the ponies and clean up for the festival. It was one of the busiest mornings in a very long time. There was so much noise all around, one might think they were going crazy. It would also take a good few hours before they descended to the port town, so everything needed to be perfectly ready.

Bofur was excited. He worked very hard throughout the winter to make the best toys he could and he couldn't wait to show them off to others. Seeing the eyes on children's faces light up, as their mouths hung open and they begged their parents to buy them at least one small figurine was a priceless experience. After getting everything onto the cart, he started helping Bombur with ingredients and equipment for his food stand. Bombur also worked hard, preparing homemade sausages and cheese, as well as picking the best vegetables and other foods. But Bombur was much more excited he will be able to buy some good quality fish to change up the daily menu for his family.

The two brothers chatted happily about this and that as everyone got ready for the journey. Bombur was excitedly ranting about how many ways he will be able to prepare the fish for his family after such a long time. Bofur chuckled and reminded him that if he serves nothing but fish for two weeks in a row like last year, Bifur might just smash a plate on his head.

The rest of the way to the town went in a similar lighthearted spirit. The weather was nice, the sun was shining, the air was fresh, and for the start of spring, it was pretty warm. it was magical, watching the new leaves growing on the old trees, as if they came back to life after months of short, cold days and long, even colder nights. Finally, they reached the end of the forest. In front of them were just fields, full of blooming flowers and some early bees here and there. They were gently swaying in the light breeze and were surrounded by the ocassional butterflies that woke up early in the year.

In front of their cart, Bofur could see a few others in the distance. He couldn't make out who exactly it was, maybe other dwarves from their town or perhaps some elves or humans. The silver shine of the sea water on the horizon made him smile. They were getting pretty close! And when he squinted, he could make out faint smoke coming from the port town, which wasn't yet visible.

"Come on, we need to hurry!"

Disturbed from his musings, Bofur looked around for the sing songy voice that called out. Realising it came from somewhere behind him, he was beginning to turn around, when a flurry of hair and clothes whizzed past their cart, jumping in the already tall grass right next to the road.

The person stopped a short distance from Bofur and looked back at whoever she was shouting at. Smoothing out her clothes, the girl, as Bofur saw, looked back at where the town laid ahead and said "I can see the smoke! I can't wait to dance around the big bonfire!" she giggled and looked back, shouting again "Hurry up!" before laughing and running along.

Bofur chuckled at the girl's enthusiasm. He almost wanted to turn back to face the road, when two very out of breath young ladies caught up to him and his brother. They panted heavily as they slowed to a walking pace. When they caught their breath, Bofur said "Your friend seems very excited."

The two women chuckled shakily. "Oh yes, but that's (Y/N). She loves The spring festival. She's a carefree soul, one could say." the taller one shrugged. "You can say that again. She's a good lass, but she's a handful. Always wondering somewhere, I swear she's trying to get herself into trouble. I'm just waiting for our parents to lose their minds one day." the shorter one, presumably (Y/N)'s sister, rolled her eyes, but her tone was playful. "Well, I should probably catch up to her, otherwise she'll just climb onto one of the boats and sail away on her own." the girl sighed and jogged off again, leaving Bofur with the two's friend alone.

"I assume you're travelling to the Spring festival as well?" she asked the dwarf sweetly. "Aye," he confirmed "I'll have a stand with toys for children and my brother here will have his food stand." he nodded towards Bombur, who silently nodded, not really having been interested in what was happening, although he listened. "Toys? Oh that's lovely! I might just stop by and get something for my little Dudon." she smiled softly. "That's an interesting name! Is he your little brother?" Bofur asked. "No, he's my son." the girl laughed "He will be three years old soon." "You're kidding!" Bofur's eyes widened "Wouldn't have guessed you already had a family." "I've been married for a few years now. My family is the biggest blessing I could have ever had." the girl sighed, before looking up at him "Where will your stand be located? I don't want to make a fool of myself looking for you." Bofur laughed "Near the center of the town square. So that my brother gets as many clients as possible."

The girl giggled and waved him goodbye, saying she should catch up to her friends before she'll get lost and ran off.

*****

The whole town was bustling with life. Music and laughter came from every direction, all kinds of people were on the streets and in the shops and pubs lining them.

Bofur was very busy. His toys were selling like hot cakes. The only thing he managed to do between serving customers and rearranging and refilling the range of toys he prepared was to glance at Bombur's stand from time to time. He seemed to be doing very well. All the people were leaving his stand amazed, often with their mouths dirty from his delicious food.

Hours were passing by in what felt like lightning speed, the only indication being the sun moving along the sky. As the day slowly came to an end, the streets slowly lit up and more and more merchants packed up their stands, their products sold, ready to just enjoy themselves and try not spend all they've earned that day.

It seemed no one would buy any toys anymore, people whizzing past in a hazy flurry, leaving only laughter behind, instead of curiously looking around. Just as he started packing up, a very out of breath young woman stopped before his stand. He realised it was the same woman of the three they met on the way to the festival.

"Running to see me eh?" he smirked playfully. He was rewarded with a playfully offended expression "Excuse me sir, I am married." the woman scolded Bofur before taking a look around his stand "My, my, the folks really plundered this place." she then looked at the dwarf, who was holding a wooden crate, ready to put the rest of the toys in "Oh I'm so sorry, I didn't realise you were packing up already! Is it alright if I buy one toy, I swear I'll be quick!" the woman fretted and Bofur laughed "It's alright, I can wait a bit longer. Take whatever you think your boy would like."

As the young mother's eyes scanned over Bofur's products she apologized again for coming so late, explaining it with "We lost (Y/N) again. Her sister is running all around to find her. Buying a toy completely slipped my mind, but I was looking around here so I thought I'd quickly stop by." she chuckled at the end and Bofur looked at her with curiosity "Aren't you worried about your friend?" "No." the woman laughed "Her sister is. (Y/N) is a grown woman, who can make her own choices. She's adventurous, sure, but she doesn't need to be coddled, no wonder she's hiding somewhere. I would be doing the same if I was her." The woman explained as she continued looking around the toys. At last, she picked a wooden fox and paid Bofur the price, leaving a small tip, for "being so kind". Bofur thanked the woman, bid her goodbye and wished luck with finding their friend.

Bofur packed the rest of his stuff and met with Bombur, who also finished putting away his products. They both decided to stay in town and enjoy the atmosphere. After all, they both worked hard the whole day.

Finding a place to have some shouldn't have been as hard as it was. Every inn they came across seemed packed to the brim, the rowdy patrons could be heard from outside. Finally, after wandering for what seemed like hours, they came across a small establishment in a tucked away alleyway. Laughter and music could be heard from the inside, but when the brothers peered through the windows, they saw that there were many seats to be taken. Walking inside, they discovered a small, cozy looking tavern. A few tables lined the walls, only some of them occupied. Right across the entrance was a bar with a few stools, probably for regulars. The dim lighting made the atmosphere more intimate.

The dwarves sat down at a vacant table and started a pleasant conversation about today. Although, Bofur mostly listened to his brother ramble excitedly about all the products he was able to trade or buy, and all the recipies that were already flooding his mind. Their one sided conversation was interrupted, however, when two jugs of ale were placed in front of them. Both brothers looked up at the same time to the one who brought them the drinks. They saw an older, small, stout woman smiling warmly at them. "Here you go gentlemen! Enjoy!" she said sweetly. "But we didn't order anything yet?" Bofur asked with confusion. "It's a gift from one of the patrons" the woman expained, her smile mysterious. Both brothers discreetly scanned their surroundings, but everybody minded their own business. "Well, we'd like to meet the person who sent this." Bombur exclaimed. He was a little suspicious, the chance of the woman pretending those drinks were a gift, only to charge them for them in the end was not small. On the other hand, if they really were a gift, they would like to thank the person face to face.

The woman smiled and thought for a second, before shrugging "I'll ask her." and then made her way back to the bar. Bofur and Bombur looked at each other. "So a lass, eh?" Bombur muttered. "You think she's pretty?" Bofur thought out loud. "As if that'd matter to me. I am happily taken if you forgot!" Bombur huffed and took out his pipe, stuffing it carefully with herbs. "You on the other hand..." he gave his brother a side eye, a small, teasing smile stretching on his face as he put the pipe to his mouth. Bofur rolled his eyes and was prepared to retaliate, before they were interrupted again.

"Good evening!" a voice chirped. Looking up, Bofur recognized the person standing at their table as (Y/N), the infamous troublemaker. "Didn't think we'd see each other again." she smiled. After a brief moment of silence, she added "You're welcome for the ale, by the way." Bofur felt his brother kick his leg under the table and as if he was just woken up from a trance, he scooted over, patting the space next to him "Yes! Yes, thank you, you didn't have to do that. Would you like to join us?" (Y/N) giggled and slid onto the bench next to Bofur.

As the day drew to a close and merchants were less and less busy, the working attitude fell off of everyone's shoulders and was replaced with relaxed fun, that escalated more and more with time...and alcohol. And the small tavern wasn't any different. Conversations became louder and laughter more frequent. Everyone was having a good time. Bofur, Bombur and (Y/N) weren't an exception. The woman exchanged stories with the dwarves, although Bombur let his brother tell most of the stories, as he could do it better. Bombur was content listening, sometimes adding in details his brother forgot, but he enjoyed more seeing how the two were closer and closer to each other.

When (Y/N) first sat next to Bofur, there was a small, but appropriate distance between them, like with any people who just met that day. But as the night progressed and both of them were getting more and more comfortable (and probably tipsy, Bombur drank less than half the amount Bofur and (Y/N) did, because at least one of them had to be sober enough to drive them home), the distance between them was smaller and smaller, and now they were practically leaning on one another.

Everyone was having so much fun, they didn't even notice someone approaching their table until someone tapped (Y/N) on the shoulder. She turned to the stranger, recognizing him as one of the patrons in the tavern. With a smile, she asked "Can I help you?" The man rubbed his neck in a nervous manner and spoke "I hate to interrupt you miss, but me and my friends were thinking of playing some tunes to brighten the mood and the good lady behind the counter told us you can play spoons...If you'd like to join us?" (Y/N) looked uncertainly at Bofur and Bombur, but they only smiled, Bombur inhaling smoke from his pipe and Bofur encouraging her "You can play lass? Well I'd definitely love to see that!" he grinned at her. (Y/N) giggled and stood up, taking two spoons from the older woman efore making her way to the table where the musicians were sitting. They were already taking out their instruments. Soon, lovely music could be heard on the street. Not too long after, people from the outside began flocking in, first to see what was going on, lured and intrgued by the swift melodies and soon the tavern was bustling with life. The conversation between Bofur and Bombur ceased, the former too busy looking at (Y/N)'s hands working the spoons together, creating interesting rhythms.

After maybe an hour, the small establishment was filled with people. All tables were full and who couldn't sit was dancing in the open space. Some more musicians joined the original ones and (Y/N) was now more or less sitting by them and enjoying herself. The table where Bofur and Bombur were sitting at was no longer occupied by just them, but other people as well, strangers. They made conversation amongst themselves, not caring to include the brothers, so they just looked around, content in their silence. But Bombur noticed his brother's eyes always ending up on that girl. Once he had enough of Bofur's oggling, he nudged him across the table, motioning with his head towards her. "Ask her for a dance." he told him and Bofur shook his head, although the grin on his face suggested he was entertaining the idea even before Bombur asked. He stood up and carefully made his way around the dancing folk towards the band.

When he reached (Y/N), he smiled at her, although a bit sheepishly and extended his hand towards her, bowing slightly. She looked up at him and gently put her hand into his, letting him pull her up. "I thought you'd never ask." she smiled smugly at him.

They twirled around for what felt like eternity. His hands on hers, on her waist, her hands on his shoulders, their faces so close to each other, their breaths mingling. (Y/N)'s eyes rolled around, laughter pouring out of her pretty throat. Bofur's eyes seemingly couldn't leave her though. While hers were full of amazement and sparks, his held a tenderness that would surely make any girl swoon if they'd see it. And she looked at him. Her smile became more gentle, her lips slightly parted as they gazed into each other's soul.

"There you are!" someone grabbed (Y/N)'s arm tightly and oulled her away from her dancing partner. It was her sister and she was quite mad. "Do you realize what time it is?! I was looking for you all over the town!" she spewed at her, while (Y/N) only managed to blink, stil dazed from the moment she just had with the handsome dwarf. "It's time to go home." her sister decided and tried pulling her to the exit. (Y/N) pulled out of her grasp and signaled for her to wait a moment. She turned to Bofur, who was pretending to not listen, and grabbed his hand, making him look at her. She smiled sadly and kissed his cheek. As she let go of his hand and turned towards her sister, who started gesturing wildly and was probably trying to figure out what she just witnessed, Bofur grinned like a mad man. He touched his cheek carefully and mumbled "Till next time then, lass..."

#the hobbit #lotr #lord of the rings #the hobbit x reader #the hobbit x y/n #the hobbit x you #bofur the dwarf #bofur x reader #the hobbit bofur #bofur x you #bofur x y/n #female reader #fluff

[vstoly-blog]

Jealous Boy

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥

.•¨*•. ☆ .•*¨•..•¨*•. ☆ .•*¨•..•¨`•. ☆

Gender neutral reader ❀

Everyone can identify ❀

.•¨*•. ☆ .•*¨•..•¨*•. ☆ .•*¨•..•¨`•. ☆

Riddle reacting at the Halloween event one of the visitors asking their loved one to marry them

Riddle Rosehearts

Everyone was busy receiving visitors and that included you, even though your dorm was not available for visits you took advantage of your wizard costume with Grim to create a character to cheer up both adults and children, old magic tricks from your world and a kind personality.

As your dorm prohibited access to visitors, the idea is that you and Grim wander around the place like wandering witches, whoever found them could buy some of their trinkets, win a candy or watch a small magic show with Grim's help.

You two didn't have a fixed place, so it's easy to walk around and visit your colleagues to see how they were doing, as well as playing with the visitors a little, the first day the visitors weren't so curious, but lately everyone was looking forward to seeing the wizards wandering.

ー Here's your gift for meeting us, the sorcerers wish you a good stay, little one.

You gave the last child the candy in the form of a frog, then watching him run to his friends who were waiting for him, hearing the voices of the little ones getting further and further away.

ー You're very good with children ー one of your classmates commented approaching with a few more people you recognized. It wasn't long before another visitor approached, Grim grinned as he took the reins.

ー Hey, human! you found one of the greatest mages, do you want a reward or buy something to never forget? ー Grim motioned to some small objects but the visitor was far from really paying attention to the cat, going straight to what he wanted, in this case, you, passing by Grim who quickly got annoyed at being completely ignored.

ー Hey! I'm talking with you! Can't you hear me?!ー You decided to smile when the visitor stopped in front of you.

ー Can I help with something?

the visibly shy visitor just managing to utter "I would like you to marry me."

M O R T I F I E D

He looked the visitor up and down to think how offensive it is to just ask to marry him

I don't need to mention that he thinks so because he wanted to propose to you too, JEALOUS OF THIS COURAGE ARGH!!!

Looking to the side he can see Deuce completely shocked, Ace with his hand over his mouth undecided whether to laugh or despair, Cater cautiously holding the phone and Trey putting his hand on Riddle's shoulder

But he's not putting a hand on his shoulder for some comfort but it's like "Don't be silly" or "stop" because he knows exactly what Riddle is thinking

In case you didn't know about Riddle's crush on you, then... by now it's pretty obvious why everyone is walking on eggshells with Riddle in this situation avoiding his stress

An awkward silence reigned as your brain processed what was really going on and Grim was sure you broke.

ー What?ー you say and Grim climbs on your shoulder and answers for the boy.ー He asked you to marry him!

ー Your wandering witch story moved me a lot and i confess that i am in love with your kindnessー You chose to politely decline while still in character, holding the visitor's hands and smiling.

ー I am moved by your love but I can't accept it, I can only love someone powerful in magic to break the curse on my heartー Letting go of the visitor's hands and taking a small key chain and placing it between his hands ー Don't worry about me, me and my partner we will be fine.

Riddle didn't even notice the sigh of relief at his silly response to the visitor and unfortunately neither did you.

ー I mean if your family is rich- HUM!

Grim before completing was quickly silenced by Deuce since Riddle was in his own world just paying attention to you and your shy conversation.

It wasn't long before you were saying goodbye to visitor with a goofy smile.

ー I was thinking, Riddle is strong enough to break his curse, isn't he?ー Cater asked purposefully making both of you shy, initially you didn't think you should answer but you saw how everyone was looking curiously.ー I can't tell, do you think you can do it, Riddle?

Riddle with a surprised face closed his eyes to take a deep breath and remain calm while his face turned completely red and his heart seemed desperate to show how he felt.

ー I think soー Riddle replied a little low and Ace opened a huge smile.

ー We didn't listen, what did you say?

ー I said there are new visitors, come on!

Riddle replied in his raw self again as he went back to attend to the other people, Ace sighed sadly ー I'm tireed

ー We're almost done, happy halloween.ー Trey said patting Ace on the back and walking them back while all you could do is wave at them.

ー Happy halloween, guys!

.•¨*•. ☆ .•*¨•..•¨*•. ☆ .•*¨•..•¨`•. ☆

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥

Open request

.•¨*•. ☆ .•*¨•..•¨*•. ☆ .•*¨•..•¨`•. ☆

Cat's notes

I'm so tired, it would be for all the dorm leaders but i'm anxious and i don't have a banner for the others so Riddle is here for now. I want to leave it open for all the people in the LGBT+ community who like twisted wonderland. i accept ideas, correction for my english butt and stuff. My spine is so dead help.

.•¨*•. ☆ .•*¨•..•¨*•. ☆ .•*¨•..•¨`•. ☆

#twisted wonderland #twst x male reader #twst imagines #twst headcanons #riddle x reader #riddle rosehearts #twst scenarios #twst

[lover-of-mine]

I hate that Taylor had to push to get the venue to do their job properly but I’m relief she did because I have two friends going tonight in barricade and after yesterday i was worried , I really hate someone had to die for this to happen

I know Taylor would've pushed for something today anyway, with the way that she was on stage demanding water for everyone, but the venue would have to do something anyway, because our minister of justice and public safety declared an emergency sanction that from today and on you will have to be allowed into venues with water and in cases of extreme heat, like today (and honestly the whole week, are in an EXTREME heat wave and Rio is already one of the hottest places in the country in a regular day), they will have to offer easy access to water and cooling stations, they are calling them "hydration islands", so they could get a fine if there are still complaints, so right now they are legally obliged to provide water. There's actually a federal law being drafted that will probably be voted on soon that will force any show from now on to provide free water, but the fact that someone had to die for this to happen, I don't even have words really.

But the ridiculous thing is that I was seeing people talking about the show, and specifically why they started to ask Taylor for water, is that apparently the venue ran out of water to sell somewhere between evermore and reputation, so there were still hours left on the show and most people weren't even finding water so they could buy it. And I really wanna fight someone because they weren't selling bottles, they were selling cups, that's the usual in these types of things, but the cups have 200 ml (6.7 oz according to google) and they were being sold for 8 reais. With 7 reais I can buy a pack with 12 of those cups at my local supermarket. Twelve. They were selling one cup for the price of twelve on one of the hottest days of the year. Apparently, the feel-like temperature inside the stadium yesterday was reaching 60ºc or 140ºf in the hottest times of the day, it was still up to 40ºc (104ºf) when Taylor started performing. The situation is infuriating.

I do hope your friends are well and getting hydrated and they had a good time despite the issues tho.

#over a thousand people had to receive medical care because of how hot it was yesterday #seriously this thing has me wanting to scream #i love that taylor was taking matter to her own hands yesterday but #she shouldnt have to #the fact that she had to #god #i dont even know what to say #i really need a tag for asks #the eras tour brazil #anon 😌

[liminalweirdo]

hot take but you can't be anti-censorship while at the same time trying to eradicate harry potter books.

- no this doesn't mean support jkr - no this doesn't mean put more money in her pocket - no this doesn't mean run out and buy the books and read them to the nearest child - no this doesn't mean put your hogwarts house in your bio or consume new hp content or buy hp merch or go to hp land or whatever it's called - no don't participate in weird fucking "icebreakers" that make you pick your hp house (or your meyers-briggs type for that matter)

but like. there's immense historical importance in what fans and fanfiction did with the harry potter during the decade it was being released. this history is especially important to queer people and a not insignificant number of trans people.

i'm not saying the books are good, i'm not saying they're not racist, antisemitic, homophobic or transphobic, and i'm not saying jkr deserves sympathy. she does not.

but books that are not what we consider "correct" or pc in contemporary society should not be excluded from history. books should not be rewritten to be more politically correct (this is actually happening like wtf). this is not how history or progress works. it's just purity culture at work. it's performative activism. and you know what? it's easy.

and like, unfortunately hp has become a symbol of hatred, but you can't erase the queer history of hp fandom. it's not about the books, it's not about jkr or her little children's story, it's about the queer community that was created around hp. for some of us, in the fucking 90s and early 2000s, this was one of the safest queer spaces online. we sure to fuck weren't accessing that safety at home or in school.

if you hate hp, you're allowed to hate it. if you loved it once, you're not somehow bad because of it. as for me — a trans person who loved and needed the queer community surrounding hp when i was a kid — i can hardly even look at the books anymore without feeling sick, but i refuse to erase what fandom did. how fans who were largely queer, trans, Jewish, Black, or any of the other marginalized groups that jkr shits on — we made it something else.

it was never about jkr, hp was queered by queer people in the 90s and 2000s. in some small way, it stopped being jkrs.

there's a difference between participating in hp fandom and supporting jkr and her beliefs. yes the line is sometimes blurry, yes we would all prefer it not be, but unfortunately life is not like that. there is nuance to pretty much everything. tbh this just feels like one more thing dividing our community. we're splitting hairs when there are bigger issues to correct.

and yes i am very aware that jkr is a threat to trans people right now. yes i know jkr is an ableist, gross pos who trying to take my rights away, too, because i'm an autistic person who would like to be able to access gender affirming surgery and HRT one day, and she thinks that autistic people can't and shouldn't make decisions for themselves. yes she is dangerous, yes she has significant sway, but she is still not the biggest threat right now.

also, this is not how things created twenty years ago work. they do not somehow keep themselves up to date. it's not okay now, and it was not okay then, but reading hp in the 90s and early 2000s did not convert the majority of us into terrible people in the same way reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory doesn't make children racist.

honestly, if hating hp is the best way you can think of to support trans people in your life idk, i'd rather you did something that actually had real world effects right now.

write to your reps, protest, educate, start petitions, help your friends, fundraise, keep us housed, protect our right to gender affirming care. our lives and our autonomy are at stake right now. i don't really fucking care how someone feels about the harry potter books.

#liminal scrawlings #sbp was huge and it was literally written by two queer jewish people #literally some of best fucking fandom writers were mostly Black #it wasn't a bunch of white upper middle class karens reading and creating the fanon back then

[byanyan]

@chronal-anomaly sent:ㅤ"If I find out that you've been in my stash again, I'm eating your munchies and not buying more." Lena hissed over the phone, looking at the empty jar that once held her medical grade weed. It wasn't a particularly terrible day, even with the pain flaring up through old injuries enough to drive her to the roach that sat at the bottom of the jar from the last time. The last time they were over, Lena remembered them rummaging in her freezer, finally coming back with two bowls of ice cream. That motherfucker. "And no more pastel bandaids! Clear ones only."

ㅤㅤ" what?! you can't do that! "ㅤsounding more distressed than they have any reason to be over such inconsequential things as munchies and colourful bandaids, byan clutches their phone tightly to their ear. she very much can do that, considering it's her money that goes in to paying for these things, but they've grown quite accustomed to having easy access to both and the idea of losing that access is unpleasant, to say the least.

...ah, but they haven't actually denied getting into and finishing her stash yet, have they? better do that before they incriminate themself any further.

ㅤㅤ" —beeeecause i'm not the one who was in your stash, "ㅤthey continue quickly, lips pursing as they recognize the sloppiness of the coverup. fingers drumming a somewhat frantic beat along the strap of their bag, dark eyes dart about the street around them, seeking some source of inspiration for a lie to explain the disappearance of lena's weed. —which they definitely did steal and smoke in the very same night, but they aren't about to let themself go down for that!

in that moment, their gaze falls upon a familiar bar half a block away, bringing a glint of mischief to their eye.

ㅤㅤ" —i mean, why would i take it? i got weed of my own. "ㅤweed that paled in comparison to hers, but that doesn't help their point right now.ㅤ" weren't you just hangin' out with cassidy the other day? interesting timin' that you'd find your stash empty now... s'almost like he knew you'd assume i took it 'n decided to frame me. asshole must still be pissed 'bout that expensive booze i pinched from behind the counter. "

a beat, in which they retrace the words of the previous sentence.

ㅤㅤ" —uh. not that i did that, either. "

#chronal anomaly #━━ ˟ ⊰ ✰ ANSWERED: IC ⋮ I AM A VULTURE THAT FEEDS ON PAIN. #━━ ˟ ⊰ ✰ VERSE: MODERN ⋮ COME ON UP / BRING THE PAIN. #this is really dumb and i will not be apologizing for it #pls don't take the pastel bandaids away lena #weed cw

[prelovednikaidou]

cunning ; geto suguru [01]

Genre: college au, fwb, slight angst, smut

Summary:

In which you found your secret crush stood in front of the student board, staring at one particular picture. Lifting his index finger to the tempered glass; Geto Suguru lightly muttered,

"I want to fuck her so bad."

-and the picture was you.

Warning: voyeurism

series masterlist

[01; pervert]

You couldn't tear your eyes off him.

He stood tall on his imposing figure, drawing enough attention to himself as he settled beside a gray-haired boy, who was the trophy of the philosophy department.

While his partner was the most popular student in your batch, your heart still ached for those beautiful ebony manes. Perhaps, it was the way how his pale skin complimented the stark contrast from his dark image; Geto Suguru was simply ethereal in your vision.

You were about to leave your seat when you heard the other girl replied, "But lately, my taste has changed. Easy-going boys are...meh. But bad boys, hmm..so dangerous. Like.. he's so mysterious and unapproachable. I've never seen him talk to a girl before."

You were about to leave your seat when you heard the other girl replied, "But lately, my taste has changed. Easy-going boys are...meh. But bad boys, hmm..so dangerous. Like.. he's so mysterious and unapproachable. I've never seen him talk to a girl before."

You were about to leave your seat when you heard the other girl replied, "But lately, my taste has changed. Easy-going boys are...meh. But bad boys, hmm..so dangerous. Like.. he's so mysterious and unapproachable. I've never seen him talk to a girl before."

Both girls giggled and continued watching the basketball training ahead of them.

Your smile dimmed before you walked your way to the cafeteria. Their words lingered in your head and an uneasy feeling rose in your chest.

It would be harder now to watch him since others would start doing the same. It got to you mentally but you just brushed it off. He wasn't yours so this sense of ownership disgusted you.

Looking down at the short skirt you wore, the soft material twirled along with the soft breeze. A skirt has never been a thing for you. Yet you wore one since you've heard that Geto likes short skirts. Well, maybe you knew a little bit too much. Like, he is a silent pervert who has weird fetishes...

You rubbed your heated cheeks, calming down the blush that resulted from your indecent thoughts. Most of the stalls have closed, leaving you no choice but to buy your drinks from the vending machine. It was placed rather far from the dining places so you have to jog a little before you reached the dark corner of the stairs.

Since it was already approaching 7 p.m, most people weren't around except for the club training students and people who stayed to watch them. You felt at ease a little, knowing no one would bother you but unusual sounds erupted from the stairs; you were scared of being robbed by some scoundrels so you slowly got onto your knees...

And peeking through the tiny gaps your eyes could see.

It was too dark and your socks were already dirtied by your crawling. Thinking that you were just hearing things, you were about to turn around when a sudden moan escaped from the tiny gap.

"Hggg.. harder.. ahh..so good..yes, ease the itch please.."

Your breath quickened but the shock you received from it - you remained rooted to your place, listening to the continuous of other's affair.

Gosh, this is so embarrassing..! How can they do it in public..! Well, they're not really in public but I can see them..!

The wet strokes of two flesh met, causing your face to blush deeper. However, it aroused something in you.

Pornography and erotic materials were never within your access despite being 21 years old. You knew them from the biological classes you took but apart from that, you knew absolutely nothing and this was just another source of learning you think you could take advantage of...or so what you confronted yourself.

The two of these pair seemed too engrossed in their business and goosebumps rose in instant. You felt dirty as your lower body unconsciously clenched, releasing slick fluids. This was so wrong and you should stop.

Abruptly standing up, your head knocked against the railing, shocking those lovers before you ran away. You were too afraid of getting caught that you left your drink and hurriedly fastened your steps. Head bowed down, covering your blushing hard face; your view was strict to your feet.

You ended up colliding with a person who was walking in the opposite direction, making your chest tightened. "Sorry, are you okay?" A rich, magnetic voice spouted his concern but you were too anxious about what was inside your head.

So you only nodded like a parrot, leaving the man watched your figure disappeared.

How regrettable would your face be if you realized that the man of your haunting night dreams hold you a while ago and you didn't even speak a word?

Geto's scorching gaze bored into your body - he had been watching you.

Initially, he only wanted to take a short break from the exhausting basketball training. But when he couldn't locate you beside the two other girls, he thought to himself that it was better to search for you.

After all, you weren't that hard to find. You were in his mind as long as he could remember and it didn't take a single fool to know that this is infatuation.

This shouldn't be dismissed with a petty interest as 'crush' because he knew damn well that no one jerks themself every single day as much as he did just from the slight memories he collected about you for the day.

He was about to lose his mind when he saw the lavious curves he dreamed of, was kneeling on the floor - doing whatever god knows. Hesitation and excitement ran through his body when you looked too good on your knees kneeling. Now, he has a new memory unlocked.

Yet, knowing that you were always so shy and easily flustered - he didn't make any approach. He wanted you to submit yourself of your own will. But on each passing day, his patience was wearing thin. It took a single provocation before he snapped and that happened to be this day.

"What is this fool doing? Isn't she worried others could see her?" Frustrated, his long strides shortened the distance but you suddenly stood up and he cursed a little.

Judging from the flustered look on her face, you must have seen something bad and it brought one sadistic smile on his lips.

How naughty.

Your short yet fast steps amused him and it was within his intention to bump against you. A small hand grabbed his arm, correcting the staggering posture but it irked him that he couldn't see your face.

"Sorry, are you okay?" He attempted to make you look at him but those beautiful eyes were glued to the floor. His jaw ticked when all you did was nodding your head and before he could press for more, you were already out of his grasp.

What a tease.

Not only he knew how that waist could form one hell of a sexy arch, but your well-rounded fleshy bottom was also something he couldn't get out of his mind until he dies.

His wrist was going to be sore tonight and he didn't care about it all. Nearing the vending machine, the drink you left was still cold. He kicked the door that leads to the staircases and a strong stench of sex dispersed.

His wolfish grin broadens and his eyes were glimmering with a well-hidden hunger. A deep laugh came from him,

"What a dumb stool. Why did I even wonder about her refusal? There ain't no way an innocent girl would stay and listen to people fucking."

The thought of you being a pervert aroused him and the hard strain on his pants couldn't hide his thick greed.

"If running is what you love, then run all you can. Wait til' I catch you in my hand."

series masterlist

next chapter›

#jjk x you #jjk x reader #geto x reader #jujutsu kaisen smut #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu kaisen #geto suguru #geto smut #Spotify #geto x y/n #geto x you #nik; [cunning] #nik; [series] ☁️

[jjmaybanksbaby]

Where It Leads (Rafe Cameron)

Summer III

Part 06: Round And Round

series masterlist | previous part

summary: It seems like the stars have finally aligned to give Rafe Cameron and you a summer of blissful happiness.

a/n: This got a little longer than I expected but I'm not mad at it. I had to give them at least one summer of being cute together before the other shoe drops. The final part to this series will be out Thursday!

word count: 3.2k words (warning this gets decently smutty 18+)

The Island Club had a special glow to it as the sun sunk below the horizon and the thousands of fairy lights strung up around the yard flickered on. A breeze rippled through the warm summer air, making the perfect kind of weather. You took in the sight. The people mingling on the lawn, all dressed in their best clothing. Waiters dashing around, keeping everyone's drinks filled. Bits and pieces of conversations floated up into the night.

You'd finally settled on a long, black satin gown with a deep v-neck that’d you'd found hidden away on the sale rack. Your mother had fussed over how plain it was and how much skin it showed but you were sure it was the right dress from the moment you slipped it on. You'd agreed to let your mom twist your hair into a single braid that fell down your back and she’d stuck bobby-pins with tiny rhinestones in at random intervals. You had painted your lips a deep crimson red to pull it all together.

You were starting to understand the appeal of the whole thing. There was a certain feeling of glamour to the night. Your eyes roamed the lawn noticing Cleo and Milo snuggled close together on the dance floor, swaying to the soft music playing. That was new. Good for them. They looked happy together.

Most people were already here since your Nonna had insisted on being fashionably late.

The hair on the back of your neck stood up as you heard Rafe's voice from behind you. You turned around and the sight of him made your mind go blank. You'd let yourself picture how Rafe Cameron might look in a suit but the real deal was so much better.

Rafe cleared his throat snapping you back to reality. "You look nice," he said, the compliment bringing a smile to your face.

"You too, Cameron."

"Hey, come with me. I wanna talk to you." He reached down, taking your hand and you slipped your fingers between his, letting him lead you back inside. Almost every person you passed seem to know Rafe and smiled at him or stopped for a quick "hello."

He pulled open a heavy door and ushered you inside. It was the same bathroom where you'd meet Sarah for the first time while trying to escape boring lunch small talk. What were you doing here? Rafe leaned down, checking that all the stalls were in fact empty before turning the hatch on the door to lock it.

Rafe smiled at you widely. "Hi," he muttered as he brought his hand up to cup your face, running his thumb over your cheek.

The butterflies sprung up in your stomach almost immediately.

"Hi," you said back quietly, afraid of breaking the moment.

He walked you backward gently until you felt the cool wall against the exposed skin of your back.

His mouth was dangerously close to yours. His other hand landed on your thigh and he slowly slide it upwards. You weren't sure if you cursed buying a dress with such a high slit or were grateful for the easy access.

“Rafe, we can't do this again. Not here,” you warned but you were sure he could see right through your words. “We were both drunk last time.”

“And I’m completely sober now.” His hand inched closer to your core.

“Do you even remember it?”

“Do you really think I would have dragged you in here and have you pressed up against this wall if I didn’t? Yes, I remember it y/n. I remember the whole very clearly.”

Rafe dropped his voice to just above a whisper. He smoothed his thumb over the sensitive skin of your inner thigh. “Tell me to stop. Tell me you don’t want this.” But you did want. You wanted it so badly it was killing you. Every bit of you turned to jelly under his touch and you wanted Rafe’s hands all over your body. You had zero interest in telling him to stop. His fingers ghosted over your underwear and you let out a whine without realizing it. “See, I’m barely even touching you and you’re already whining for me.”

Your forehead dropped to his shoulder as he moved your underwear aside, dipping his fingers into your folds.

“Ah, ah, ah. Look at me, baby.” Rafe said, pushing your head back upright before he moved his hand down to wrap his fingers around your throat. His eyes meet yours. This was a different side of Rafe. Rougher and wild but incredibly sexy.

Another moan caught in your throat as he pushed two fingers inside of you. “Fuck, Rafe.”

Your back arched off the wall and a loud moan tumbled off your lips as he hit the sweet spot inside of you. “Good girl,” Rafe praised. His words turning you on even more.

Rafe could tell you were nearing your climax and slide his fingers out suddenly.

“Fuck you, Cameron,” you spit.

He laughed. “Please, it couldn’t be more evident that you want to,” he replied, hiking your dress all the way up to your waist, pulling your lacy underwear down to the floor before undoing his belt and kicking his own pants off. Your fingers fumbled with the buttons of his dress shirt, desperately pulling it open to run your hands over his beautifully chiseled abdomen. 

His clothed dick, bulging out of his boxers, rubbed against your clit and your hips bucked up automatically, craving the friction.

Rafe ran his thumb over your bottom lip, slipping it into your mouth as it naturally fell open. “God, you look so fucking hot right now y/n. So so pretty.” He pushed your hips back against the wall, harshly. “But let’s remember, I’m in charge here.”

“Please, Rafe,” you begged. You knew he was going to keep teasing you, loving the way you squirmed under his words.

Rafe pushed his boxer down this knees freeing his hard cock before pulling a condom out of the jacket, unrolling it over his dick. He lined it up with your entrance, pushing into your slowly. The pace almost making you cry out.

“Jesus, Cameron. Fuck me already if you’re going to,” you hissed, annoyed with the ends he was pushing you to.

Rafe chuckled, his eyes locked with yours as he slammed his whole length into you. You bit down on your bottom lip trying to stay quiet.

Rafe reached down, hooking your leg around his waist so he could enter you at a new angle. Your arms wrapped around his shoulder, holding onto him for support. Your breath hitched as his thumb began to rub small circles on your clit.

"Fuck, you feel amazing," Rafe said, his own breathing uneven. "I needed to do this again."

His mouth attached to your neck, kissing and sucking and you were sure you would find a hickey there tomorrow morning. He rested his forehead on yours, your mouths an inch apart.

You could feel your release growing closer and closer. Rafe's own movements were getting sloppy and desperate. He closed the distance, landing his lips on yours, catching your moans as you came undone. He continued to kiss you, slipping his tongue into your mouth, finishing just seconds later.

Neither of you moved for a few moments, savoring the feeling of just holding each other. Your lips met again, the kiss was sweet and slower but still full of passion.

“That was a super productive conversation, Cameron,” you joked.

“I didn’t come here to have one.” He smirked, moving away from you to slip back on his pants. You walked over to the mirror to evaluate how disheveled Rafe’s impromptu due need to fuck had left you. Some piece of hair had sipped out of your braid but they framed your face nicely making it look almost intentional so you could definitely get away with it. Your red lipstick was noticeably gone. If your mom got suspicious, you’d have to blame it on not being able to find a straw. Though the stain on Rafe’s own lips might give you away.

Rafe came up from behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist and resting his chin on your shoulder. You watched his movements in the mirror.

With a face like pretty it really was no surprise you found yourself in situations like this. Not that you were complaining. But Rafe had this pull on you that was truly indescribable but impossible to resist.

“Should we get back out there?” You asked. “People might start wondering where you went.”

“Let them,” Rafe replied, placing another kiss on your neck, just below the edge of your jaw. It was your favorite place to feel his lips on you. That spot in particular sent a shiver through your body whenever he kissed it.

“I’ll go first and you follow in five minutes.”

“We can just leave together,” he countered.

“Phoebe might see.”

Rafe hesitated, picking up on the double meaning of your words but wanting to avoid a fight over it. “Okay. You go first.”

☼☼☼

You let yourself get pulled into Rafe Cameron’s orbit for the remainder of the summer. You became a regular figure at the group’s parties, becoming especially fast friends with Riley as you spent more time together and bonded over the world that was high school theater. Milo had claimed you as his beer pong partner from the beginning and the two of you had managed to remain undefeated. The evenings usually ended in you and Rafe sneaking away to his house or yours, the culmination of sly glances and flirtatious winks you’d been teasing each other with the entire time. You left your window perpetually unlocked and learned how to dart across the Cameron’s front lawn without making the motion-sensor lights go off.

One summer night, near the middle of July, you were standing on Rafe's front porch having slipped out quietly when the light clicked on illuminated the yard, You froze, fearing you'd been caught by Rose or worse by Ward but instead, Sarah stepped out of the shadows, her eyes equally wide with fear of being caught.

"Shit, she cursed, half giggling. "I usually don't make that go off."

"Where have you been?" You asked her playfully.

"I meet a boy," she confessed.

Your features contorted into a smile seeing the happiness radiating off Sarah.

"Aw Sarah. I'm so happy for you. Just be safe, okay?" It was hard to believe but Sarah was now the same age you'd been when you and Rafe had first meet.

"Don't worry, y/n. Nothing's even happened. We just sit in his room, talking for hours," she paused, finally realizing the strangeness of you standing on her front porch in the early hours of the morning. "Oh my God. Wait? Are you and Rafe...? It’s about time."

You held out your hand to shush her. The look on your face giving away all your secrets.

"You're good for him," Sarah added. "You're good for each other."

The light clicked off again, the darkness of the night enveloping the two of you.

"That's my cue." You reached out, pulling Sarah in for a quick hug, placing a loving kiss in her blonde hair.

"Bye." She squeezed her arms tighter around your waist before letting go.

☼☼☼

You knocked on the door of Sawyer's pool house, the location the group had decided on for the night after a rather fierce argument in the group chat, one you had pointedly stayed our off. Rafe opened the door, smiling at your presence before stepping outside, pulling the door closed behind him.

He leaned down for a kiss. "Hi," he said.

"Hi," you replied, your lips meeting his.

His hand automatically reached for yours. "C'mon. I wanna do something fun tonight."

"But isn't everyone in there?" You pointed behind him.

"Yeah, but it's just gonna be the same boring thing. Sawyer's drunk already because he can't hold his alcohol for shit. Phoebe thinks we should hit up some touran's party. And Cleo and Milo are no-shows. So let’s go do something else."

You shrugged. You'd much rather have Rafe all to yourself anyway. "Okay, where are we going?"

“It’s a surprise.”

Ten minutes later and Rafe was pulling into the desert parking lot of his high school. “Welcome to the Kook Academy. That’s not it’s actual name but everyone on the island just calls it that since none of the pogues can afford to go here.”

The lofty walls of the private school loomed above you. It looked like a fucking castle that belonged in the rolling heels of Europe, definitely not in the middle of North Carolina.

“C’mon. You can see practically the entire island from the roof.”

“How the hell are we gonna get up there?” You asked.

“The lacrosse team pulled this sweet prank last season and I still have the keys to the roof. Plus, it’s summer. No one’s even here.”

“You’re gonna be the death of me, Rafe Cameron.”

He leaned across the middle console, sliding a hand being your neck and pulling your face close into his. “I promise it’ll be worth it,” he said before landing his lips on yours.

Soon you were climbing into his lips, straddling his hips. The roof-top adventure temporarily put on hold. You gripped his blonde locks as his hands worked their way under your shirt.

"I thought we were breaking into your high school?" You tesed.

"We are. Right now, I'm just trying to break into your bra," Rafe answered.

"Okay." You shoved his hand away. "On account of the fact that that was the worst comeback I've ever heard, let's go."

"I can't help it. Your tits were distracting me," he answered, trying to reach for them again.

You swatted his hand away "Rafe."

"Party pooper," he replied with a frown.

"You're such a drama queen." You leaned down for a quick kiss, tearing your lips away before he had the chance to pull you in deep.

Rafe hadn't lied. The view from the roof was breathtaking. You could see all the way to the end of the island from the top of the fourth-story building. The cars moving below were tiny dots, the people even smaller. You stood at the edge, your eyes fixed on the churning ocean stretching beyond the horizon. The whole thing felt eternal.

Rafe's eyes watched your own, the glint in them growing as you took in the sight.

"Holy shit, Rafe. This is amazing," you said, wrapping your arms tight around his neck, not looking away from the skyline.

"I thought you might think so."

The two of you stayed like that and watched the sun disappear below the horizon in a blaze of orange and pink glory before the dark night sky littered with brights stars replaced it.

The wind nipped at your skin, fiercer up here than on the ground. It made you snuggle into Rafe's side, stealing his body heat to stay warm.

"Ready to go back down?" Rafe asked.

"Not yet." You weren't prepared for this moment to end. You longed to stay in it, here, with him, for as long as you could.

"Okay," Rafe answered, pulling your back closer into his chest and wrapping his arms tighter around you to fight off the cold. "Okay," he repeated. He let a few more minutes pass before breaking the silence again.

“I bought you something.”

You turned to face him, eyebrows raised in surprise. Rafe had money, obvious, but you never knew him to be much of a gift-giver. Mostly, because he was hyperaware that the money belonged to Ward, not him. Rafe reached into his back pocket, producing a small black velvet box. You took it from his outstretched hands and opened it. Inside, lay a beautiful gold necklace with a single dainty star.

You look up at Rafe tears welling in your eyes from the romantic gesture. Your heart swelled. “Oh my God. I love it, Rafe.” I love you. You stopped yourself before those three little words, three words more explosive than dynamite, had the chance to slip out as well.

“Don’t cry, baby. It’s only a necklace. Want me to put it on you?”

You nodded, handing Rafe back the box. You lifted up your hair up with one hand and he carefully draped the necklace around your neck, fastening the clasp in the back.

Rafe smiled at the look of it hanging around your neck like a reminder that you always had him, that you would always have him.

“Thank you, babe. I seriously love it.” You took the necklace between your fingers peering down at it.

“Anything for my girl.” 

☼☼☼

Hours later, you were back in Rafe’s room, laying on top of him, your naked stomachs pressed together, your head resting on his chest, your legs intertwined beneath the comforter. Rafe ran his index finger lazily up and down your arm, goosebumps springing up in its wake. You lifted your head off his chest to look at him.

“I think we should maybe talk about what happened last summer," you started.

“Why?” He asked back.

“Uh, cause you told me to pick and I didn’t pick you. But then I get back to the Outer Banks and we sleep together within the first week.”

“But you’re not dating Evan anymore.”

“Right.”

“So what’s there to talk about. You’re free to fuck anybody you want. Preferably me, right now, again.” He eagerly moved you so that your already sensitive core, from the night's earlier activities, was straddling his thigh. You groaned at the contact, quickly shifting away as not to let him distract you from the conversation.

“What about Phoebe?” You asked.

“What about Phoebe?”

“Well, you took her to Midsummers.”

“Cause we’re friends and I knew it would make Ward happy.”

You paused. “But we’re friends.”

“Baby, trust me. Phoebe and I are not the same kind of friends me and you are.” His palm landed on your back, rubbing small comforting circles.

"Meaning you're not sleeping with her?" The words came as a question, though you’d meant it as a statement.

"Definitely not." Rafe paused. "It's just you."

This was the closest you'd come to having the 'What are we?' conversation. You had suspected the two of you had been exclusive for some time but it was refreshing to hear Rafe say it aloud.

"Yeah, it's just you for me too," you replied.

You started to move off Rafe's warm body. “Where are you going?” he asked.

“I gotta get home. My mom’s started going on these crazy 6 a.m morning runs and I’m afraid she’s gonna catch me sneaking it.” You leaned down to kiss him again. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Ward and I are leaving for those college visits tomorrow.”

Oh shit, you had forgotten about that. “And my flight back’s the week after that.” The implication of your words hung in the air. The summer was coming to a close and you couldn’t stop it.

“It’s okay y/n. We’ll call and text during the school year and next summer you’ll be back.”

“Right,” you agreed, trying to ignore the sinking feeling growing in your stomach. You had the summer-fling of your dreams with Rafe and here he was promising to stay in touch so why didn’t it feel good? Why didn't it feel right?

“I gotta go. Have a good trip.” You took Rafe's face in your hands hoping to kiss away the uneasy feeling. Rafe's hands wandered down to cup your butt, pulling you back on top of him.

“Rafe...” you trailed off as his tongue slipped into your mouth.

“Shhh,” he mumbled back.

You knew you should probably pull yourself away from him, staying would cut it too close with your mom but the way his hands roamed your body was making it hard to think about anything rationally. He rolled your hips against his already hard-again dick. Fuck, the things this boy did to you were dangerous. Besides, maybe this would distract you from that achy feeling you had about the future so you let yourself kiss Rafe back desirously.

But two weeks later, as the tires of your plane lifted off the runway, en route back to Oregan, that feeling hadn’t gone away in the slightest.

taglist! @oreoenthusiast13 [drop a ☀️ in my inbox or messages if you want to be added]

#outer banks #outer banks fanfiction #rafe cameron #rafe cameron fanfiction #rafe cameron x reader #obx #obx netflix #obx fanfic #rafe cameron series #rafe cameron x y/n #rafe cameron smut

[mittensmorgul]

As a European who has been fine with their Samsung for over 4 years now: Why do most Americans keep buying the highly expensive iPhones? I mean I know it to be a status symbol, but there's gotta be sth else right?

i honestly can't speak for anyone but myself, and I'm sure people have a million reasons, but let me clear up one huge misconception here: the iphone and the samsung phone are literally the exact same cost here. so this whole notion that iphones are just super expensive compared to android phones (at least comparing current gen phones available in the US) is just flat wrong.

I used to have a samsung phone, too! like four phones ago lol. I switched to the iphone 6 when it was the current model for one reason: I used to use an ipod. ALL my music was (and still is) on itunes. I don't mean I buy music on itunes, I mean I sat there and ripped over a thousand cd's to itunes. It took like a week. I didn't want to do that again just to have access to my own music on my phone when my old ipod broke and they just weren't being made anymore because everyone just put their music on their phones. And samsung didn't offer an easy way to transfer my entire itunes library to it. They still don't.

So I grudgingly switched to iphone. When that phone died, I got an 8, and when my 8 died this past spring, I got a 12. But I was SERIOUSLY considering getting the Samsung phone instead at that time (again, it was the exact same price as the iphone and perfectly comparable in every other way). Still, it was the music library that was my final sticking point, and I got the iphone.

I mean at a point you're invested in things that make the phone functional for you. Having paid for apps and stuff that would essentially be worthless on an android and have to be re-purchased from the google store... well, it just becomes an annoyance to switch, and phone manufacturers count on that. (yes, even Samsung)

There's other contributing factors, too. I mean, i know android has apps that do things comparable to apple's facetime, but when everyone else in the family has iphones it's just easier to communicate on the shared platform, you know? That's less of an issue in the era of zoom calls but it's still a sticking point for some who are just used to their long-standing tech versus "learning something new." (lol I'm looking at my mom here... we're all just shocked she learned how to use facetime at all. and since I haven't been able to actually see her in person in 2 1/2 years because of this stupid plague, it's nice to actually be able to see her on my phone once in a while...)

it's not a status symbol, more like the status quo in a lot of circles. Like I doubt I'd ever be able to get my mom to switch, just because she doesn't care enough to bother to learn new tech. but for me, for whom it was always really a matter of "i want my music with me without having to pay again to listen to it, or pay for spotify which pretty much every musician will tell you is killing the music industry" (but that's a rant for another post) it's the grudging acceptance that i should probably invest some time in finding an alternative for music that I can live with versus continuing to use apple products going forward.

But the way most cell phone plans work in the US is also set up to lock you into a contract with your provider by using the financing plan of your phone purchase to keep you stuck there for x number of months. I happened to get a REALLY good deal on the cost of the phones, but only if I financed them for 30 months. If I try to pay off the account sooner (which I wanted to do at the time of purchase) or switch to a new carrier before my contract is up, I will have to pay the entire cost of the phones, not the extremely deep discount cost I'm getting by paying the monthly financing. so instead of the $400 I'll pay total for each phone over the course of the contract, I'll have to pay about $900 per phone plus the penalty cancellation fees for each phone (which I think is $300 per phone, because again, we have three phones on our family plan). I just can't afford to be hit with that fee all at once and then immediately also buy ANOTHER new phone while these three phones still function. So like... kudos to people who can afford that sort of pointless protest, but apple will not be hurt by that lil bit of performance art, you know? It's the high tech and very expensive equivalent of "boycotting" starbucks by buying a coffee using the name "merry christmas" to force the starbucks employee to say merry christmas to you. Or protest-buying Lil Nas X sneakers just to burn them or whatever. It's fucking stupid.

One way or the other, Apple already got my money here. There's enough e-waste in the world that I'm not gonna just throw this perfectly functioning device in the trash on some moral statement against the company that made it. I will, however, loudly complain about Apple's draconian morality crusade, and as a customer that likely carries more weight than the same complaints issued by people not even directly affected by those terrible policies.

#my life as a muppet

[beturbecky]

Pokémon Problem

I’m gonna try and collect my thoughts about this but there is an issue that the Pokémon community needs to talk about more to which I don’t see any, or that I just happen to be missing when looking up Pokémon posts on here and Twitter. I don’t know how long this will be and I’ll probably make some spelling errors along the way (though will try to correct any I see A.S.A.P.), so I’ll make a keep reading bar and put my information below.

As of June 1st, there’s only two posts about the problem here

So we all remember when Logan Paul created his first Pokémon unboxing video last year (or the year before; the pandemic has made my sense of time more terrible than it usually is). 

My brother’s the one that first showed it to me, though I’m not too sure it was this ass’s first video. My brother knew I still loved Pokémon since I always ask for something Pokémon related for one of the options for Christmas and I thought that was sweet of him. 

As a kid, Pokémon was always a big part of my life. I watched a couple of the show’s episodes, played whatever games I was able to get, and collected cards. Out of all of the Pokémon things I tried to own, the cards were usually the easiest to collect. They were cheaper than VHSs/DVDs and the games, and they were very accessible! Whenever my parents went out, and my sister and I came along, we’d usually be able to nab a pack if we went to the gas station. Not only that, but my grandparents even helped us out by buying any cards or packs they saw whenever they went to any garage/yard sales and would gift them to my sister and I.

Back to the issue-

At first, I thought the Pokémon unboxing video was an innocent upload that would help give birth to new fans of the franchise, and in a way it did. Even if that ass might not have changed and gained any morals, he still had tons of impressionable followers and it didn’t seem like there was anything malicious attached to the video at the time. It was only after thinking about what I was watching that some fears about the video pop into my mind. It seemed like there were lots of excited commotions every so often, to which came from finding legendries and holos inside some packs. This would be normally fine, since these are rare cards, but as the video went on and more rare cards were found the more I realized this wasn’t about reliving the feeling of opening cards to add to a collection, this was just about how much a card was worth and how much money they would eventually get once they sold it.

Don’t get me wrong! People can collect for the purpose of price alone, but as Logan uploaded more videos about “finding” crazy expensive cards inside booster packs, the more my fears became front and center. I didn’t even hear about what else Logan did in these videos until the Pokémon problem got really bad and I had to look up how it became a problem.

Apparently there was a “Pokémon card expert” that Logan Paul decided to bring into his videos to tell the audience how much each rare card was worth as well as advise the team on what packs to buy. Hilariously the dude had purchased packs for other people as well, because of his connection to Logan’s unboxing video(s), and they turned out to mainly be useless or at least non-rare cards. There’s a theory that I have about it after watching this video, so I was going to say how ironic it was that it happened at all, but now I’m pretty sure the dude knew what would be in the box and was hoping the group he was with would open the it once he was gone.

Because of things like this, even with the duped “expert’s” purchase, a lot more people have been getting into buying cards. Again, I’m not saying that buying Pokémon cards for profit is a bad thing, but it’s generally a bummer when there’s more competition with people grabbing good packs just to have a better chance at getting the legendries and holos.

Unfortunately the problems don’t end there and it’s not even the worst of it. Because the videos were doing so well, more people decided to take part in buying their own booster packs and record their finds. Even Youtubers that were not known for Pokémon participated! From what I can see, most videos are basically just the creators trying to get in on the bandwagon, getting into the craze to get money as well as to help grow their channel. Obviously nothing bad and there weren't any messages directly towards the audience to buy as many cards as one can.

Even if the other channels weren’t directly responsible, the usual clickbait titles and expressions thumbnails would work like they’re supposed to and get people to check the video out. It was clear Pokémon was popular again and certain money hungry people knew that this was a safe bet to try and get in on the action. Since it was mainly the card collecting of the franchise that was affected, many people started rushing to start a collection for the first time while others dusted off their old collection and restarted buying packs. I, myself, definitely returned to collecting 4 dollar packs at Walmart when I found any available, yet as the pandemic continued and people had the money to spend, a new problem arose. 

Because of the increased popularity of cards, people that think of ways to make a profit have tainted the hobby. People created connections with vendors; they kept schedules of when stores restocked and headed there early just to buy out the store’s card stock and sell for double the price on seller sites or their own.

As of the first of June most if not all stores have pulled cards off shelves and have halted any sales. What used to be a hobby where the products were easy to acquire, now people can really only buy Pokémon cards online. And even then there’s no guarantee... Though I’m only slightly sad for myself for not always being able to get a pack every so often, I’m more frustrated about this situation for the kids. 

When I was their age, even if I didn’t really know how to play the game, I loved collecting Pokémon cards for the art and to possibly get my favorite pokémon. Even if I didn’t get them, there are tons of mons that I liked and get excited to see when opening packs! Now, kids that want to get into collecting, or have been collecting can’t go to Walmart or Target to get their usual packs anymore because of this. Like I stated before and even in the picture above, cards aren’t always available online either! Pages of the Pokémon Center’s TCG inventory have mostly been stamped with a sold out sign most of the time. The only other sites that sell them are from the very same people that created this problem in the first place. Scalpers. 

Guys, we need to do something about this! 

Not just for us to have a better chance at gaining cards, but for kids to be able to actually get a pack for a normal price! The ones who are the actual demographic.

If you guys want to look into this a little more, I have a few other links to inform us of the situation:

https://www.pokemoncenter.com/category/tcg-cards?ps=90&page=1 (pokemon center card page)

https://screenrant.com/target-pokemon-cards-halt-sales-combat-scalpers/ (article about target canceling the selling of cards)

https://www.vice.com/en/article/7kv9a9/pokemon-cards-psa-cgc-bgs-turnaround-times (cardboard shortage)

https://www.cbr.com/target-pokemon-cards-armed-customer/ (armed customer causes cards to be pulled from shelves)

Another video to help as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCRnFOJGVck&ab_channel=ETSPokemonCards

#pokémon #pokémon problem #issues #we need to come together as people #remember how most of us were during the first days of PokémonGo? #scalping #scalpers #Pokémon scalpers #pokemon scalper #pokéscalper

[comebeonetwothree]

Blog #8: Country Roads

07/13/2021

Currently driving through roads where pro-life billboards are placed in front of graveyards… we are officially on the road back home.

Traveling fast but seeing the most we have while covering 1,500 miles and two time zones in the last week. 900 miles to go. We jumped from Portland to northern and southern Montana then all the way through to Chicago… our last stop ;(

We met some really nice people out here- the kind of people that want to take time out of their day to interact with you. People actually smile at you and mean it when they say “have a good day.”

There were a lot of experiences this week that were indescribable. All senses were at full throttle from sleeping in the heart of Portland to camping in National Parks.

Being our last stretch of the trip, it has been hard to not feel sad when we are closing such a big chapter of our life. It’s a weird feeling of being sad but also still being so excited for the next stop. I hope the excitement doesn’t end.

Who

Who is ready to rumble…

In Portland we got to meet up with Maya’s cousin, Michael and his daughter Thea. He moved out there 13 years ago and never looked back.

He was telling us he did a similar trip with his college buddies back in the day and fell in love with the city, so moved there shortly after the trip.

Sounds fun, might fuck around and move…

Batman was ready to rumble, and fumble and everything in between. While whitewater rafting in Glacier National Park, we had the pleasure of riding with Batman The Guide. Batman, because you can’t change who you are but if you can always choose Batman.

He had been living in Montana for 17 years after moving from Oregon. He had previously worked in the park as a shuttle bus driver and recently switched over to a whitewater rafting instructor.

He was a funny fucking dude; the whole crew was super hyped but he had a comedic sense that made it an entertaining day.

While on the water, we were joking around and splashing the neighboring rafts, an independent rafter said they will bomb us with beers if we splash them. One of the other people on the boat yelled back, “Are they full beers?” and they responded by launching three full miller lite beers at our raft.

At the end of our tour, Batman gave us the three beers then we dedicated those three beers to him with a funnel.

More Friends!!! Its wild how many people we got to see throughout this trip. Hitting Yellowstone National Park, we met up with Mayas friends from home: Cole, Jamie and Declan.

They were just starting their cross-country trip from Nyack, NY, hitting the Northern route to the southern, vs our trip ending in the North. Funny coincident.

We camped out with them for two nights… it was too beautiful to just stay one night, so we pushed back our trip to badlands and stayed the extra night.

We were all out at this joint called Buffalo Bar, it had a great outdoor area with corn hole, ring toss and puppiesss. There is something so fulfilling in petting random dogs with a beer in your hand.

This one dog I was petting had an exceptional owner who was traveling him across states to bring him home. I spoke with the owner for quite a while, she was so friendly about letting me pet her dog. She really was doing it all, back at home she has three kids and two other dogs.

When people hear about our travels, their reactions usually make us realize how cool it is to have the opportunity to do a trip like this.

Many times they wish they did the same when they were our age, *cough, cough, go travel right now, cough, cough.*

This woman explained how she jumped right into working out of school and has always regretted it. Her children were already teenagers so I told her she should get out there and do it. Traveling her new dog home was a great start to the on-the-go lifestyle, she seemed to be enjoying it.

I later found out she picked up our tables tab… thank you Jennifer, you have a heart of gold and a generous soul. She explained her hopes that her kids will one day get out there and see the world like she always wished, and we were accomplishing. It was a pass it forward request, when I am able to cover the bill of a lovely traveling stranger. I hope I cross paths with this family eventually and pay it forward for her children that may travel.

What

What a reality…

The National Park pass is something you buy and are given access to all the national parks in the US. We got one in the beginning of the trip knowing we would be reaching quite a few parks. Unfortunately, we lost it after just seeing the Grand canyon.

It fell in a black hole… the area where your dashboard and windshield meet. Remember this when you put shit on the dashboard. It can slide right down to its death, the only way to get the shit out is by taking off the windshield.

Those passes are irreplaceable, of course.

In badlands, we posted up around 10 p.m. in our hammocks. It was a new experience for us, we thought hey its our last time camping, lets try it a new way. 

We set our hammocks up underneath this podium and slept there. It was perfect for a quick and easy set up/clean up. There was a solid amount of people around us, so we weren't too worried about getting attacked by coyotes again. 

Where

When driving to Portland we drove through the Redwood National Forest. This made me realize how long this Earth has been around.

Trees take a while to grow, and these trees were as thick as three full grown pine trees and as tall as two stacked on top of each other.

Neck breaking tall.

After crossing through, we hit the upper west coast and traveled on route 101 until we hit Portland. It was filled with jaw dropping views, so much so I woke Mary and Maya up every 5 minutes to show them the views. Most times it was the same view as before, just with a new massive rock to look at.

It was a relatively foggy day, so we couldn’t see certain lookout points, but there was something so majestic about the fog within the forests and hanging on the coast.

There were points where you cross over a bridge and there was nothing around you, just white. It appeared as being stuck in a dream or driving my bitchass to heaven.

Arriving in Portland, we stayed at a place in ChinaTown. It was so cute and located on top of a great deli, Charlie’s Deli.

We checked out a bunch of shops and stores while in Portland. While we were walking around, this coffee shop had the sweetest workers. They enjoyed interacting with their customers and weren’t just looking to take your money.

Portland is filled with mockingly friendly people, they weren’t mocking anyone though, they were just that fucking friendly. They actually want to converse with people... what a concept.

For dinner we went to this food truck pod place, which is about 15 different food trucks serving food, with a communal sitting area to eat the food.

We met up with Maya’s cousin there for a drink and to catch up.

Hitting Glacier National Park, we started our camping excursion. We started off sleeping in our car since we arrived late to our campground after driving 10 hours to get there. It was pretty comfortable and with the knowledge of bear attacks in the area, it was a secure place to sleep.

While in Glacier, we decided to go whitewater rafting, a whole new way of seeing the parks. It was so dope, the rapids were on the weak side since the heat waves.

After rafting, we found a great lake front public access point where we hung our hammocks up and took a nice long nap.

There are lakes EVERYWHERE here in Montana and great fishing! Let’s travel and fish all over Montana, okay? Cool.

We waited until 5 p.m. when the park lets you in without a pass, to do a sunset hike in the park. We took Going-to-the-sun road to the highline hike, where we got to see some wild animals!

In the parking lot we got to see a horned sheep (looks like a ram) and more mountain goats!! We saw three full grown goats and one baby goat.

This horned sheep actually stormed at us and we had to jump into our car. The people that parked in the spot before us left their cheetos on the ground. This guy was hungry as fuck I guess. Relentless to say the least. 

This National Park is my new favorite spot-on Earth. Spread my ashes here. Moseying through the park was a full body experience.

All your senses are involved, the smells of the forest are beyond refreshing. The touch of the crisp air brings goosebumps to your skin, and the taste of wind in your face emphasizes the overload of oxygen in that area.

There are no commercialized areas for hours outside the park. Just a fuck ton of trees.

The sounds of different birds chirping harmonizes in your ears with the wind blowing and the rocks falling below you. Your sight is spiked the highest out of the senses. These views seemed so unreal they appeared fake. When you finally touch the grounds around you, you realize how really unreal this land is.

Heading to Yellowstone the following day brought a similar element of nostalgia. We camped right outside the park, on the state border lines of Wyoming and Idaho.

Our friends we stayed with luckily still had their national park pass, so we all took our car and got into the park early that next morning. We got to see some bison! Fun Fact: Bison and Buffalos are actually the same thing.

There were so many beautiful trees and hot springs throughout the park. So many cool colors to see. We also watched Old Faithful blow her hole!!

Getting to Badlands eventually, we got a campground directly in the park. Since we got there later than five it was free. We posted up our hammocks for our last night camping on the trip ;( when we woke up, the views were so cool.

Badlands is a shit ton of clay forming giant sandcastle hills all over. But there is so much green for a desert it was an interesting combination.

When

When can we shower…

We have completed so much of the drive home its wild. We stayed in an apartment for the first two nights in Portland and then spent the rest of the week camping.

We hit our record of days without a shower… 5 full ass days. I’m so proud of Mary and Maya, they really can’t stand being dirty.

When driving long ass 10 hour plus drives for a week you find yourself enjoying nothingness. Head empty is such a vibe after jamming to music and listening to murder mystery podcasts for hours on end.

Our music ranges widely, depending on crashing periods. Whenever Mary is driving, she is either blasting screamo edm music or 2000s pop music.

Maya plays some bomb bops; I really don’t know any of the songs, but it has opened my mind to all these new artists!!

I personally love the murder mystery podcasts, there were a few times I had to change it though because it got too spooky. In the case of this week, we were driving to camp in Montana and a murder mystery came on about the Montana Child Killer… dope.

Why

I have ruled out ever living in a city. From the driving on busy ass streets to the dirty smells everywhere, I will happily reside somewhere in the country. Where? Still have no idea… Why? Because there are so many pros and cons to all these places we saw.

I guess i'll just have to come back out here!

I’m really thinking somewhere up north on the west coast. The west coast will forever hold my heart, but I really don’t have the money or the ability to live in a city out there. Maybe one day with a bombass money making job.

Coming back to the East has made me realize how much nicer people are out west and how much slower of a pace it is.

How

How are we coming up on our last spot…

We are hitting our last stop… Chicago. Shoutout to my cousin for going to school here and letting us use and abuse his apartment! Hehe just kidding we will take care of it for ya, Owen!

It feels so strange to be this close to New York. Our license plates being from New York is no longer that cool.

I’m going to miss people peeping our plates and asking us about our travels and/or wishing us luck!

Thanks everyone throughout, we are almost accomplished with this chapter!

#blogging for beginners #fuck it #post grad #cross country #jubilation #travel #beginners guide #covid made me do it #road trip #bloggersdiaries

[frstbiitten]

Before, the world didn't offer a notion about the future, every day was different and nothing was planned beforehand, there’s no preparation for what could come next. Now, it was different, she had found a good source of interest and source of money, it was arguably a possible source of income, it was very risky by how brutal and insane it sounded. Beating each other for money, who could do such a thing to have some coins in their pockets? Well, it's unthinkable in a way, but despair is what moves one to do something they never thought possible. There were more people sharing the same shoe and none of them felt lucky to be breathing, it was an obligation to be able to breathe properly. Living, that's what everyone wants, to be able to see the lights of dawn.

She was no exception. If she is alive now it was for something, now there is a reason to not die from hunger or the weather, for she had more will in her spirit. Although, without lying, there were days that preferred to be consumed by worms, to turn into dust in the most painless way possible, that could be considered a gift from fate. Thinking about the death terrified her, knew that one day death will come for her, the indicated day when her body would collapse imminently, her bones, every artery, her own blood, everything will become useless objects without any use. She didn't want that for her, though she doesn't feel exactly alive at all either.

For now, her body was still functional, she could do what almost anyone else could do, but after the first night at "The Box" as some people called it, her muscles begged to rest. The first thing she did with the money she had gotten the first night was to buy a cheeseburger, although what she had won was not too much and she left the rest to manage it in the upcoming days -she had some hope that could get out of this situation in the future, one day-. It has been years since the last time she ate a cheeseburger, something that could placate with the hunger she was constantly feeling, maybe it wasn't the best food or the most nutritious, but at least it felt like a reason to go on long enough until she could continue and rebuild her life from scratch -but had no idea how.

This time she had some company, Lewis accompanied her and worked as a good moment for her sister Clarissa to meet the new girl, they were almost identical, almost the same light skin and they had the same mole under the left eye, although her features were softer. She was almost as tall as him, something that led her to think that they might be twins. Something that she could notice about Clarissa was her muscles, they were firm and accompanied the rest of her anatomy in balance with the rest of her body, she had slightly thicker arms and wide shoulders, she felt some intimidation from such anatomical structure. Such was the intimidation that she later saw in a broken portion of a mirror she had kept in her 'place’. The girl barely had enough muscles to look menacing and the skin on her face seemed too thin as well as pale, as if it were going to break.

"Mmm... I can't believe that a girl like this could have beaten a veteran like she did, can you explain well what happened?" The sister hadn't finished her glass of soda yet and kept insisting with the straw, watching the girl eat the burger somewhat uncomfortable with her presence itself, as if she was from another world and didn’t even know how to look like a human being.

"Well, she, Snowflake, not only struck her skull, but she literally froze her arms out of nowhere and broke them into a thousand pieces, it was like seeing a wild wolf with rabies attacking a moose." yes, that's how it happened, even though the girl still hasn’t reached for the memories of that night, beyond all the blood that had to be removed and the wounds she had to clean, there still are bruises on her stomach and legs.

"Well... I find it hard to believe, she hasn’t reached adulthood yet  and she’s so short, maybe it was just beginner's luck."

"I owe.. nothing... to luck." She mentioned between bites and with a full mouth, observed both before finishing with her burger. Well no, it wasn't beginner's luck at all, and it never would be, she didn't believe in such a thing as luck as it could never prove that it was on her side. In any case, luck owes her more than one could think.

"Okay, valid, let's forget beginner's luck for now."

Lewis' real intentions were that his sister could train Snowflake as soon as she could and have her ready for the next encounter, which gods know when it was going to be but it wasn’t going to be soon. Neither Clarissa nor Snowflake were excited about the idea of receiving such orders, Clarissa wasn’t aware of her brother's decisions. They decided to start as soon as possible with the training so they could have some notion as to how much she could hold, Clarissa seemed to have mastered the concept of throwing someone down, made a demonstration with Lewis - which was surprising and almost leaves him very confused-, she flexed her knees and advanced as fast as she could to wrap his brother's waist with her own arms, she then  proceeded with lifting him a few inches above the ground and pushing him down to the hard ground.

"AAAHHHH SHIIIT, FUUUUCK!!!" Lewis's screams frightened the girl, asked if he would be okay after taking such an intense blow directly the spine, he could only turn on his body and keep screaming in pain, there were even tears in his eyes and began to cry.

"He’s going to be okay, when you least expect it, he’s going to be doing his thing again like nothing has happened."

"Good, because I don't want to kill him with a movement like that."

Between those weeks of training, sometimes she felt that her body could not bear it and they had to stop, the level of sugar in her blood could lower suddenly, feel dizzy or not feel physically strong enough. Years of poor nutrition were doing its effect when she least needed it, from now on she wouldn't have to look into disgusting places for some food. Clarissa was stronger than one could tell at first, was able to lift her brother who was somehow slightly heavier than her, and she had no issue with lifting him off the ground. She was careful when it came to teaching the girl a few new moves, a way to make the opponent lose access to the air stream, such as making the other fall on their back and other techniques as well. The place they chose was what was once a warehouse a few decades ago, this part of the city is suffering from the decline that the country was going through, there were many conditioning factors for such an increase in poverty, even if she did not understand them completely.

The good news is that she could live in a small abandoned apartment, and won’t be too far from the siblings at least, although this one lacked many things. Obviously, the paint was flaunted and there was debris on the ground, the smell of isolation and dead was the first thing that made her regret leaving her lair between the rocks, but it was better to have a roof than have nothing. There were rules: whatever she earned every night, both Lewis and Clarissa would get 15% each, meaning that 30% would be for both of them, while 'Snowflake' would get the rest. There weren't many guidelines to follow, just that she didn't die in the middle of the fight for her own obvious good, and she couldn't try or dare to do business with anyone else who volunteered to help her.

"Good... So ... this is where I'm going to stay?" She looked around, at least the bathroom was still working, it was something, and she would have to search for the exact spot from where such a hideous smell came from.

"Yes, I know it's not a 5-stars hotel, but it's what we could afford." Clarissa mentioned without paying much attention to the girl's discomfort, usually, she didn't often care about anyone but herself.

"Also, if you need anything, we have a phone to give you, it's not the big deal but it was cheap and is  supposedly very resistant to falls and all that." From inside a paper bag, Lewis pulled out a small cardboard box, had no image or inscription that could catch the attention, could it be stolen or a  smuggled product? The girl preferred not to ask questions on the subject, maybe it could have some connection to the mob or something. "You have our numbers if you need something from us, we'll also let you know when we come to pick you up."

Inside the box was a phone which model was a hit a few years ago, the first models that went on sale after those that looked like portable bricks were smaller, the screen had only two colors - gray and black or blue and black-, and this was one of them. With the press of a single button the small device came to life and lit a light gray color, the keys were not divided between each other but were joined by a soft-touch material and easy to press. Better than nothing, she had to remember that everything she would have from now, even though it was almost useless, old or in bad shape, was better than having nothing. She appreciated it.

"Do you think you can fight again tonight? Some people are talking about you since the first night." The girl had not paid much attention to Lewis' voice for being more interested in the new phone, he sighed exhaustively and placed both hands on his hips, while his sister kept her arms crossed and turned her eyes.

"What? Fight tonight?... I think I could do it, although I don't know how it's going to end." Despite the training she received, she still had doubts about whether she could use her powers in the midst of the fight, at some point the ice would come to the rescue from the depths of her cells, it would not be long before the adrenaline took effect and she becomes a real threat t the other rival.

It had been almost two months since the first fight, she would lie if she said that had confidence in her own strength now that her body has begun to change in respect to the muscles, it was an almost imperceptible change to the naked eye, but her arms began to harden and the grip of her hands became firmer than before. She could win, she had the strength necessary and the power to win. That night there was tension in the air, the atmosphere was different, as Clarissa's presence there alerted several spectators, her name is already a well-known one among them, and just by seeing her, memories and rumors came out afloat without saying a single word.

#novel #((I tried to write less buuuuuut)) #((I gotta accept that none of these chapters will have less of 15 paragraphs or show consistency))