#cause queue live in shades of cool

[bfxenon]

6 Local SEO Tasks for Summer Success

I hope this summer features at least a few lazy days for you, kicking back in the shade with loved ones and a pitcher of iced tea or a tray of homemade popsicles. But the next few months can also be a really exciting time to try out new local SEO and marketing tasks well ahead of the holiday season to see what’s resonating with your community in 2023. Here are 6 smart things to try that could sweeten your local business’ summer success.

1. Get on the Search Labs waiting list

No one likes standing in line, but there’s one queue you should get in this summer and that’s for Google Search Labs so that you can get the earliest possible access to the new Search Generative Experience (SGE), shown above in Joy Hawkins’ tweet linking to this early bird article. SGE is one of Google’s experiments at incorporating AI into their search results, and while the good news is that early testers are seeing local pack-like results for local SGE searches, the rankings of these “new packs” don’t match up point-for-point with traditional packs or organic results and that’s news your business needs to know. As Noah Learner reports:

And as I reported back in April regarding Google’s AI chat Bard rollout, there is definitely some overlap between AI results and older layouts, but there are also some differences. Getting access to SGE so that you can work on puzzling out what causes those differences and understand how to earn top visibility in the new formats will be smart work for any local business.

Whether all of these AI experiments will fundamentally change your business operations or marketing practices remains to be seen. We’re all waiting to find out which products will actually move forward and how many customers will actually integrate them into their daily lives as they have with local packs, Google Maps, Apple Maps and other familiar features. While you’re in line, I recommend reading Greg Sterling’s piece, Google SGE: Meet the New Pack. 

2. Study the weather and serve the people

If any part of your business or inventory ties to seasonality, you’re quickly learning that you can’t count on the weather anymore. In 2021, millions of people in Oregon and Washington were desperately hunting for air conditioners when their summer temperatures became 30-40 degrees above normal. Air conditioners just weren’t a “thing” in the Pacific Northwest before, but they are now.

Where I live in Northern California, the extreme drought had gone on for so long, memories of wet winters were fading into myth. Then we got inundated with such rain this past winter that people were scrambling for umbrellas, for wood chips to fill their flooded driveways so that cars wouldn’t sink, for sandbags and French drains. No one is sure what is going to happen when our massive snowpack melts here this year...

The thing about Climate Change is that it causes erratic weather, and we’re just not able to make statements any more like “England is a wet, cool country” or “New York gets heavy winter snowfall”, or “California is dry” and base our inventory on these “facts”. Many local businesses will need to re-think seasonality and activate a more fluid supply chain and inventory structure to accommodate for weather and conditions locals aren’t prepared for or accustomed to.

They may need to extend floorspace time for seasonal products, or at least warehouse them, to be brought out at time of need so that they can be the ones selling the air conditioners to Portland and Seattle and the galoshes to people in San Francisco. Even restaurant menus need to incorporate awareness, because diners may not want to eat cold salads in a wet, foggy summer, or hot chowder when the temperature at the coast is 116 degrees.

Ready your business to respond speedily to sudden changes, using social media and your website to let locals know that you - at least - are prepared to serve them in novel conditions. And don’t overlook how upset people are feeling about these changes. Use your voice to advocate for the transition to green energy in your community and in your nation so that the detriments of Climate Change are actually being addressed instead of simply reacted to on a town-by-town basis.

3. Put on your pro-active shorts

You’ve noticed that video is everywhere in the SERPs, right? When I looked at MozCast this morning, I saw that at least 23% of the searches we track are returning video results. In fact, at this moment in time, it appears that Google is returning videos more often than local packs in this snapshot of our data set:

This prevalence is playing a part in why many local SEOs are now recommending that local businesses include some form of video along with every new page they publish. I’d recommend taking that strategy one step further: create two videos for every new page or piece you publish. Why? Take a look at this YouTube result for the multi-location brand Patagonia:

As you can see, the top video is one that’s been published by the actual company, but the new-ish Shorts section tells a different story. The brand has complete control over the messaging in their own videos, but what narrative is being built by the Shorts (videos of 60 seconds-or-less) lineup? Random customers (or non-customers) appear to be questioning the company’s prices, creating an atmosphere of controversy by hinting at revealing unknown information, and claiming that the business hates zippers. Is any of this accurate, relevant? Who knows. It doesn’t come from the brand. Meanwhile, two of the results have nothing to do with the business and are, instead, featuring Argentina.

If all of this is beginning to sound familiar, it’s because local businesses and their marketers have encountered this phenomenon before, in the form of Google Business Profile Q&A. When you leave it entirely up to the public to tell your brand story, you may end up with this:

What’s happening here is that a platform exists on which a business can create content, but that platform is being ignored by the business. Customers think the business should have content there to help them out, but where neglect is present, leads are being lost to unhelpful, random information from the public that is not designed to convert. This is one of the best examples I know of user generated content (UGC) gone wrong.

I’m a firm believer in the concept that the customers of customer-centric businesses tell the best brand stories. In fact, as we saw in Moz’s review survey, only 11% of people trust what brands say about themselves more than what customers say about them. I’m a huge fan of UGC and its powers of persuasion, but I also believe that brands should take control wherever they can.

So, this summer, as you’re uploading new product and service pages, refreshing your about page, updating your mission statement, or creating any new content around what your business is and does in your community, experiment with creating both:

A long-form video of whatever length that summarizes the content of the page and is uploaded to your YouTube channel

A video short that highlights the most important/sharable aspect of the content and is uploaded to the shorts section of your YouTube channel

These shorts can also become the basis of a TikTok feed for your business, if you want to go that way, or can be ideal for sharing on your other existing social channels. And don’t forget that you can upload videos to the image section of your Google Business Profiles! Note that there is debated about the actual length of these. Google’s guidelines say 30 seconds, but videos of over a minute have been spotted. Read this Twitter thread for more conversation on this topic:

4. Speaking of Google Business Profiles…

Here are three tasks to enrich your profiles over the summer that will hopefully increase customer actions surrounding your listing:

Add three new seasonal photos each month this summer. Many local SEOs believe dripping information to Google is a smart strategy for proving freshness. Even if your business doesn’t experience major seasonal changes, use your creativity to showcase your business in the summer sunshine.

Write one new Google Update (formerly known as Google Posts) per week in June, July, and August. Sterling Sky found that Offer-type updates get the most clicks, so focus on your summer specials and discounts, create interest by mentioning that these are time-limited offers, and don’t forget to include a strong call-to-action of what you most want the customer to do after reading your Update.

Check your hours! Many businesses have longer hours in summer, but even if yours don’t change, check your GBP (and other listings) for accuracy. Summer brings visitors to nearly every town. These folks don’t already know when you’re open or closed as locals might. You can keep everyone a happy camper by double-checking that your store hours are listed correctly so that no one is inconvenienced. This will also protect your brand from avoidable negative reviews. If you discover troubling inconsistencies in your hours across the local search ecosystem, consider signing up for Moz Local so that we can quickly distribute accurate information for your business to all the major local business listing platforms around the web.

5. Speaking of visitors to your town…

Motor associations and travel agents say that road trips will remain the top vacation choice for Americans this summer. Some day, I’d like to do a survey of how many reviews people write per each vacation they take. I know I’ve always personally enjoyed reliving my trips after returning home and taking a few minutes to leave reviews for local businesses that helped me out. But until I can poll the public on that, what I can tell you is that TripAdvisor found that travelers are 77% more likely to book a space in your RV park or a cabin at your lodge if you respond to the reviews you’ve already received. 77%!

I can also tell you that 96% of the summer visitors to your town will be reading local business reviews because that’s the percentage of the public that reads reviews in general. And they won’t just be looking at what wanderers like me say about your business. More than 90% will be moderately or extremely influenced by how your business is responding to reviews.

If you know you’ve got a backlog of neglected reviews gathering dust in your most visible local business listings, pretend you’re in summer school (sorry, not fun!) and have the homework of writing a response to every review you’ve received in the past year. Tackle a batch every week until you’re caught up. Owner responses publish almost instantly, so you could immediately start benefiting from seasonal visitors seeing you responding to complaints and being there to solve problems. And if you keep up the good work as the year progresses, you’ll have the added benefit of being 100% responsive before the busy holiday season at year’s end. 

6. Communication is everything…and texting is easy!

If you’re on the fence about whether this is the year your local business should invest in texting with customers, consider these stats compiled by my friend Aaron Weiche of LeadFerno:

78% of customers want to text with your business

Texting is super fast - 90% of people open texts within three minutes of receiving them

65% of your potential customers will have more positive feelings about your business if you offer text messaging as a mode of communications

There is so much information you could be communicating to customers this summer about your product availability, seasonal amenities, safety protocols, and satisfaction guarantees. You’ll find thousands of articles on the web about relationship-building being the core of good marketing, and the mass adoption of cell phones puts the easiest possible mode of communication right in all of our pockets or hands. In fact, 88% of survey respondents say texting is the main reason they use cell phones, and multiple surveys indicate that it’s become customers’ preferred means of conversing with businesses. This summer would be a great time to make life easier for your customers and your business by opening your text lines for fast and effective communication.

Making local business sun tea

Most of the tasks we’ve focused on in today’s column can be implemented relatively speedily for near-immediate benefits to your business. But nearly all of them have an added bonus: local business improvements can also brew slowly, like sun tea. You pop some tea bags and water in a jar and leave them to steep on the patio, and the longer they develop, the richer the taste of the brew. It adds up over time if you’re regularly refining your inventory for changed demand and using features like Google updates to offer specials on your deals. It amounts to something if you’re regularly responding to reviews, building a video library, and being responsive to customers via convenient texting.

These efforts don’t vanish like summer lightning. They gently build habits, content, and connections that should stand your local business in good stead in all seasons. Little efforts add up and even small improvements in your business operations can mean a lot to your customers. Cheers to your business and community this summer. Hope it’s a good one!

[curiousconch]

Chase You / Chase Me (Pt. 3)

Part 3: Remember when everything was different

Catch up here: Series Masterlist

Chapter Summary: Aislinn, Gigi and Alex find friendship in the midst of the competition. One discussion led to another, pushing Alex to take a trip down memory lane, revealing the moment in her past where she and Gabe's paths crossed for the first time.

Book/Pairing: Choices - Laws of Attraction / Gabe Ricci x MC (Alex Keating)

Words: 1.7k+

Rating/Warnings: Mature (16+) / alcohol consumption, language. Scenes/themes may trigger trauma for some, reader discretion advised.

Disclaimer: Most of the characters as well as some dialogue belong to Pixelberry. I am merely borrowing them.

Sunday, downtown New York

"Wait, can you back up for a moment," Aislinn said across Alex, who was scooping the remains of her melted banana split. Gigi was sipping her ice-cold mimosa, their brunch table full of plates with scrapes of leftovers. The sun was out and so were they, dining al fresco under the shade of a huge white parasol and the gentle breeze cooling them every now and then. It was a perfect day so far.

The trio has agreed to meet up that Sunday to discuss what went down with the Rothswell case as well as to prep for the conference Sadie had invited them to. They were on some kind of a peace pact, all of them sharing the view that pitting women against women in the corporate world is just shitty business.

Alex has enjoyed their company. They exchanged imaginary one-liners that would have made Martin frown his heart out or Beau McGraw chortle his head off. And speaking of McGraw, they all concluded that the best strategic course of action was to let Beau enjoy his moment in the sun. One day, Alex would make sure to remind him that he tried to rain on her parade.

It was a refreshing and enlightening discussion, though she will forever be traumatized with how many swears Gigi can cram in a single sentence. But the sight of a flustered Aislinn while Alex and Gigi engaged in a battle of pick-up lines with their waiter was a strong second contender.

As their drinks flowed, the conversation naturally led to rhetorical questions, now settling at why they became a lawyer. Aislinn shared first, surprisingly, stating that her knack for analysis was just a natural fit to the demands of a career in law. Gigi's answer was simple - she can leverage her eidetic memory to earn herself some serious dough, allowing her to live it up and take impromptu vacations to Bali.

Alex tried to dodge the question. She had never needed to discuss her reason of leaving pre-med behind to attend law school. It wasn't a pleasant memory, and she doubted it will ever be.

The two ladies were quick to see her attempts of evasion. But together, they finally wore her down, Alex left laughing with their shenanigans as they cornered her to tell her story. So she told them that she knew Gabe Ricci. And that it was because of him why she was a lawyer. Alex decided that revealing the truth was worth it, seeing how their jaws just dropped to the floor.

"Girl, you have to explain yourself right now," Gigi demanded, to which Aislinn seconded.

Alex snorted as she went back to skimming what was left of her dessert. "It's a boring sob story, and I don't want to turn this lovely morning into a snooze fest."

"We're not going anywhere, right Gi?" Aislinn turned to Gigi beside her, who nodded whilst sipping another glass of cocktail.

"Fine, but only if you swear this won't leave this table," she said. The two held up their hands invoking a half-smiling Alex, sensing nothing but sincerity. So she drank down her glass of bloody mary and took a deep breath, composing her tale.

"Buckle up, ladies, you're in for a ride."

**

10 years ago, in a town near Boston

Alessandra Keating had never felt more alone than she did that day.

They said she needed to just move forward. But how can she, when every day since the crash, she felt nothing but emptiness? How can she feel alright, when the only life that she knew was suddenly taken away from her?

It wasn't long before she found out that the car accident was caused by someone being reckless, by someone who thought they were above the law. Then, she imploded. No way could she let her parent's deaths be forgotten. No fucking way.

For the past three years, she invested all of herself into this endeavor. Researching, studying, choosing the right counsel, even raising funds. It was what kept her breathing, what gave her purpose. Ultimately, it was what kept her sane.

From filing the lawsuit to attending mediations, to numerous settlement meetings and colliding with every legal roadblock possible - Alex made sure to see them through. Only for everything to be decided that day - the bench trial.

One sweltering summer morning in her hometown's courthouse, Alex sat on the side of the plaintiff, with her long brunette hair tangled in waves. She let her senses wander, taking in the dark wooden panels and pews, her sense of smell invaded by the scent of old mahogany. She sealed her lips into silence, hiding her nerves by straightening the bargain khaki suit that she borrowed.

She barely held it in as her eyes travelled to the table beside them, catching a glimpse of the man that caused her immeasurable pain. With jet black hair and looking as young as her, he sat with an almost mocking expression. He was wearing a crisper set of suit, creating an illusion of trustworthiness that Alex can easily see through.

Maximilian K. Cornell. The green-eyed teenager who swerved his sports car onto the same slippery road Alex and her parents were passing through. The very same boy who got out unharmed, but left Alex's family to die in the snow. Her opponent was a slithery snake who managed to screw the justice system so many times over, just because his parents had the grease to do so.

But after the crash, the town decided they can no longer turn the other cheek. Alex's decision to sue was propelled by the support of the countless friends and families whom her parents have helped in their hour of need. But that still proved not enough.

Her mind whirled back to the proceedings, and to how every strategy, every plan of attack was being thrown out. With every whip from the defense, she started to grow impatient. As another traffic expert from her camp was dismissed, Alex just snapped inside. She leaned to Mr. Leroy, a withering man on the brink of retirement who was her lawyer, asking for them to convene outside.

"I'm sorry Mr. Leroy, but your strategies were just scrutinized and torn into pieces," Alex said in a low voice the moment they stepped out into the hallway.

"Alex, I am doing my best here. We clearly don't have the upper hand, lacking the incriminating evidence that we need," the man replied, exasperated.

"Have we dug up his previous records? I mean, why on earth would he have a sealed history? Doesn't that mean something?" she continued.

She continued to dictate her litany of better-positioned moves, but even Alex knew she wasn't getting through. So she excused herself from the conversation, hoping a cup of iced coffee will somehow mitigate her frustrations.

As soon as she came back, she found Mr. Leroy convening with a much younger man in a dark navy suit. His aura screamed "big city hotshot", albeit the exhausted look in his brown eyes. Not wanting to interrupt, she held off from approaching. However, her curiosity didn't stop her from eavesdropping.

What she heard the charismatic man say was a legal precedent that would have opened the sealed records in question. And with all the mind-boggling legal jargon, that's just about what she understood.

"Gabriel Ricci? I'm looking for an attorney named Gabriel Ricci?" a female voice from a nearby window called out, which made the young man raise his head. She saw him end the conversation abruptly, where a flustered Mr. Leroy hastily thanked him. Alex took that as her queue to approach her lawyer.

"Alex, we might be able to turn things around," she heard Leroy say.

And by some miracle, things did turn around. With her lawyer using the precedent offered by the young attorney earlier, their side gained the needed momentum to tip the scales in their favor. By the end of the trial, the verdict was out - Cornell will never be able to drive another vehicle, along with paying her a hefty amount of damages and fees.

They won.

Alex had to pinch herself before the victory sunk in. When it did, she felt an immense burden lifted from her shoulders.

After a long, long time, Alex can finally breathe.

Broken free from her nightmares, she asked herself what's next? The answer came to her almost immediately. Right there and then, she decided what she wanted to be. Like that man from the courthouse, she will become a lawyer.

Fueled by this new sense of mission, she saw a future for herself. No longer held by the past, she finally was able to move forward.

Indeed, Alex became what she set out to do - a lawyer who took on hopeless, even impossible cases and won them. A lawyer her parents would be proud of.

A damn good lawyer, just like Gabriel Ricci.

**

Present Day, at a New York Penthouse

Gabe sat in his home office clad in nothing but his white bath robe, holding a worn manila folder.

Five years ago, Gabe saw this case as his opportunity to make Robbie proud. The defendant had all the parallels with his brother - a teenager, incarcerated young, where the punishment had presumed to be too harsh. He now knew it was rightfully just.

But at that time, he was blinded by passion and ambition. He wanted to prove to himself and to Sadie what he can do. Taking on this case that was practically unwinnable would give him more power, more control over the pro bono cases he wanted to take. Actually winning this though, that proved to be his fatal mistake.

Your cockiness got the better of you again, Ricci.

His mind went to Alex. That was the direction his every waking moment drifted to nowadays. Whether he liked it or not, he'd answer some other day.

He had to let her know. If he didn't, Alex would eventually find out herself. Once she discovers that he was the one who had set this man free, she would hate him.

Gabe can't bring himself to think of that happening, of losing that chance with her, or of losing Alex's trust.

Hell, I'm going to lose her entirely if she finds out.

These realizations devastated him.

But how can they both escape the looming shadows of the past unscathed? Even he couldn't figure that out.

Sighing, he rubbed his hand on his face, reeling at his lack of options. He then stood up, slamming the open folder on his desk as he turned to face the window, simmering in his own regrets. Papers slipped out to the carpeted floor, including a full-page mugshot of the defendant.

It was Maximilian Cornell.

Author's Notes: With Sadie being shady AF, I feel like we all need some dose of female friendship right? Also, this is my HC why Gabe constantly pulls away from MC, not only because of their working relationship. Did the reveal live up to the cliffhanger? Let me know in the comments! 👇👇👇

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@choicesficwriterscreations

Thank you for your continued reading!

Want to be added or removed to the tag list? No problem - just let me know 😊. Reblogs are also much appreciated! 💕

#laws of attraction #choices laws of attraction #choices loa #laws of attraction fanfiction #choices laws of attraction fanfiction #choices fic writers creations #fics of the week #gabe ricci x mc #gabe ricci #aislinn tanaka #gigi sinclair

[amjustagirl]

The sky of the sky (of the tree called life)

Pairing: Suga x reader

AO3 Link Here:

Summary: She doesn’t take much notice of him at first, not when he’s one of thirty nine faces that greet her with varying degrees of interest when their teacher introduces her to the class.But then he hits her in the face with his friendship and she starts to get to know him - through the smallest things, in the littlest ways.

Author’s Notes: This is the first fic I wrote and initially posted as a lone (AO3 link (was still getting the hang of Tumblr lol). Lifted the title from ‘I carry your heart’ by E.E. Cummings. Anyways - this is my humble attempt at a fic, my love letter to one Sugawara Koushi. 

Ume doesn’t take much notice of him at first, not when he’s one of thirty nine faces that greet her with varying degrees of interest when their teacher introduces her to the class. She doesn’t take much notice of anyone really, not when her mind is consumed with thoughts of college prep and exams and chores, so he remains a stranger, even after weeks of sitting next to him in class.

Still, he greets her every morning with a pleasant ‘Ohayo’, and doesn’t take offense when she merely responds with a small smile. He offers up his notes without comment when she asks to check her English notes against his, and even occasionally slips her a banana from the stash he always seems to be carting around. His grades are decent and his homework is always submitted on time so he’s popular with their teachers, even though he seems to spend most of his break time sketching what looks like volleyball plays or buried in heated discussions with Sawamura.

Overall, he seems like a nice boy - if a little obsessed with volleyball.

She looks at her lunch box in dismay. There should be food in it, rice and tamago and fish that she most definitely packed last night, but her lunch box sits on her desk, clean and empty. She groans, glancing at the clock. Five minutes after the lunch bell. She ponders on whether to wait until dinner or be jostled to death by a thousand teenagers, but then her stomach growls, loud enough for Yuna-san in the front row to turn and stare at her, so she supposes there isn’t much of a choice.

As she approaches the canteen, she can hear the usual bustle and sound of too many students trying to feed themselves in too small a space - but then she hears a shrill shout - ‘cream buns for sale’, and the immediate cacophony of excited shouts that follow makes her think that her chances of getting food in the next half hour plummet to precisely zero.

Her assessment is right, but that doesn’t stop her mouth from dropping in horror as the canteen practically descends into a warzone, her schoolmates collectively losing their minds. The girls’ tennis team looks like they’re leading a charge through the left, but they’re being resisted by the concert band. The volleyball boys’ team seems like they’re causing plenty of chaos down the centre. Sawamura-san, engaged in a vigorous shoving match with the basketball captain, and Azumane-san - the large, quiet boy she shares home economics class with, cowering while trying to swim through the crowd with a feral looking boy perched on his back.

She apologises silently to her stomach and turns to head back to class.

‘Imai-san!’ Sugawara waves at her from the back of the crowd. ‘I’ll help you get some buns! What do you want!’

‘Oh – two buns, any flavour?” she calls back, a little dazed. He answers with a cheerful thumbs up.

She watches bemusedly as he expertly weaves his way through the crowd to Azumane-san, gesturing wildly to the little boy on her back, before combining forces with a bald boy to shove Azumane-san bodily through the crowd to the front of the queue. The boys grab armfuls of buns each, elbowing the displeased soccer team in the face.

Sugawara spins around, and there’s a glint in his eye that she can recognise from far away (courtesy of being an older sister to two troublesome younger brothers), but her legs don’t move despite her mind hollering at her danger, danger, Imai Ume, even as he raises his arm to toss the buns to her.

One bun lands neatly in her hands. The other smacks her right between her eyes.

She yelps, hands clapping over her face, checking to ensure her glasses are still in one piece. A curry bun may be relatively light and fluffy, but it still hurts when used as a flying projectile.

She hears footsteps clatter towards her. ‘Oh my god, I’m so sorry - please don’t cry!” Sugawara says, his voice high pitched in worry, hovering next to her awkwardly. “Daichi will never let me get over it if I make a girl cry.’

She snorts despite the sting between her eyes. “It’s fine, Sugawara-san. Thank you for helping get some food’.

‘Are you sure? Maybe we should go to the nurse’s office just in case!’ he fusses, shuffling his weight from one foot to the other nervously, ‘I’m such an idiot, I can’t believe I missed that toss, I should just resign from the volleyball team already - ‘

‘Eh eh eh? Suga - what’s this talk about resigning from volleyball!’ The small, feral boy from earlier leaps onto Sugawara’s back.

‘How can you resign? This is the year we’re making it to Nationals!’ the bald boy rounds up the rear, yelling at Sugawara indignantly.

‘I missed a toss at my classmate, I’m no longer qualified to be a setter.’ Sugawara wails, unfazed by the weight of his two juniors on his back. ‘I should just die now’

‘YOU THINK YOU’RE ASAHI NOW EH, DRAMA QUEEN!’

She takes advantage of their chaos to slip back to class. They don’t get a chance to speak to each other again for the rest of the day, kept busy with classes on calculus and chemistry for the rest of the afternoon. But the next morning he crows a loud ‘Ohayo’ at her, and she smiles at him, wider than she did before. 

----------------------------------- 

Spring passes into summer surprisingly quickly, and Ume slowly, but surely, gets used to hearing the song of the cicadas in evenings instead of the rumble of cars in the streets, to the uphill bike commute she takes to ferry both herself and Yuji to school and kindergarten respectively.

Becoming accustomed to something doesn’t mean liking it though. She remembers her mother saying that things would be easier when they move to Karasuno from the city. That living with family in a close knit community like Karasuno means more hands on deck to keep their family afloat. For the most part, Ume supposes her mother’s right. Her grandparents are sweet and try their best to help out, if a little too old to chase Yuji around the house or fetch him up and down the mountain to preschool every day. Their neighbours always offer them too much food, and their grandchildren provide Yuji with enough entertainment most evenings for Ume to catch up with schoolwork and revision.

But sometimes, after she’s corralled an unruly Yuji to bed, and shooed a sullen Keiji to sleep, and she herself can’t fall asleep because the cicadas are too damn loud, Ume wonders if her mother uprooted them to Karasuno so she could run away from the fact that she’s stuck raising three children alone, disappearing off on such long business trips that Yuji doesn’t even ask her anymore if their mama’s coming home.

Thankfully, Yuji, with the short memory of a six year old, finds living in the countryside a joy. He joins the neighbour’s children in catching cicadas, and when she tells him that it’s cruel to catch animals for sport – even ones as annoying as cicadas, he laughs and promises that he always lets them go.

Keiji, though, remains quiet and withdrawn, hiding in the bedroom whenever he’s home from school. She tries chatting with him at the dinner table but her efforts are usually met with the surly silence of a thirteen year old. So she doesn’t push him too much, too fast - she already asks too much of him as it is, sharing most of the chores and supervising Yuji so they don’t become a burden to their grandparents.

So it’s a surprise when Keiji asks if they can head to the park for a picnic on a clear summer’s day, but she agrees immediately, swallowing her shock, making sure to pack onigiri and fruit and strapping Yuji to her bike. It’s strange when Keiji drags them all over the park looking for the perfect picnic spot. It’s even stranger when he decides that the playground, full of shrieking children, should be the appropriate spot for a picnic. But there’s a tree for shade and it’s convenient enough for her to watch Yuji while he runs loose in the playground, so she holds her tongue and spreads their picnic mat on the floor.

‘Can I get us some ice cream?’ Keiji asks.

She’s about to tell him to wait til he has proper food in his stomach before moving on to dessert, but catches sight of Keiji staring at the ice cream stand intently, hands in pockets, cheeks flushed pink. She follows his gaze. The ice cream stall looks fairly old, run by an oba-chan and a young girl with short hair and a cheerful smile. Oh.

‘Why don’t you go get an ice cream for yourself? Yuji and I can get some later’, Ume replies, busying herself with the picnic basket to hide her smile.

She settles on the mat, back against the tree, setting her textbook on her lap. The summer air is crisp and cool, and the sunlight shining through the leaves dances on her skin.

‘Hey Imai!’ Suga stops to greet her, hand raised in a friendly wave.

‘Hello!’ she waves back. ‘No volleyball practice today?’

‘No - we have a mandated break on Saturday afternoons’, he walks over to her. ‘Despite what my unruly kouhai think, overtraining causes injuries. Besides, we need time for summer homework’.

She nods, noticing the stack of books under his arm, and before her brain processes her sudden impulse fully, she asks ‘Do you want to join me? We can share the mat’.

He blinks at her, and she cringes internally, expecting him to politely decline. He may chatter at her absentmindedly about his team, and she may share her notes with him when she notices he’s distracted, but it’s not as if they’re friends outside of school. To her surprise though, he agrees easily, kicking off his shoes to join her on the mat. They sit together in silence, absorbed in their respective work. The sun is warm but the breeze is cool and crisp, so it’s comfortable and altogether pleasant.

‘Onee-chan’, Keiji calls, running back over. He raises an eyebrow when he notices Suga and drops into a slight bow before turning to his sister. ‘Can I have my onigiri? I want to pass it to my friend.’

She opens her mouth to nag him to make sure that he has lunch, but promptly shuts it. Instead, she tosses him two onigiris - hers, and his. ‘Make sure you eat, Keiji’, she calls, and he’s off, running with the wind.

‘Hey, Imai, I packed too much food. Share some of it with me?’ Suga offers mildly. She’s about to say no, thank you politely, but her stomach growls - traitor, and he just chuckles at her, snapping his lunchbox open and pressing half his sandwich into her hands. She thanks him, taking a bite and has to stop herself from moaning in delight because it’s full of egg mayo and chicken katsu and it’s so, so good.

‘It’s delicious, right?’ he says, grinning around a mouthful of his half of the sandwich. ‘You can’t study on an empty stomach, that’s against the law’.

She laughs at that and splits her stash of strawberries and watermelon with him.

Later, she shocks herself again when she tells him as he’s about to leave that she’ll probably be at the park again next Saturday - and he’s welcome to join her if he pleases. She wonders if he can see the uncertainty in her eyes, but he shoots her another smile and agrees.

-----------------------------------

She packs two extra onigiris next Saturday, and the Saturday after that. She also starts including peaches from her grandparents’ farm because she learns that he has a weakness for them.

Keiji ignores Suga for the most part, leaving for the ice cream stand as soon as they arrive in the park. Yuji, on the other hand, soon learns he can get Suga to do whatever he wants if he pouts long enough. Suga, for his part, does not help, often buying the little boy far too much mochi and ice cream.

‘Stop it Yuji.’ Ume says wearily. ‘Suga needs to study and you’re distracting him’.

‘But he’s the only one I know who can push me hard enough on the swings’, Yuji whines, scruffing his shoes into the ground.

‘It’s fine, I’ll take it as my break’, Suga says, smiling kindly down at the little boy. ‘Shall we see how high you can fly, Yuji-chan?’

She watches, shaking her head as Yuji cheers, dragging Suga off in the direction of the playground.

‘You seem good with kids’, she remarks when he returns - thankfully after a short while since Yuji, with the typical attention span of a six year old, is quickly distracted by the other kids playing a game of tag.

‘You think so?’ Sugawara responds, turning back to his books. ‘That’s good to know. I’m planning on going to college to train to be a teacher.’

The image of him dressed in a rumpled shirt and tie greeting his class with a cheerful ‘Ohayo’ every morning flashes in her mind. She imagines him smiling wide and indulgent at his student’s pranks, listening patiently to his students’ questions and problems, diligently pouring over his students’ assignments late into the night.

For some reason, her heart clenches. She doesn't know why.

----------------------------------- 

‘Tohoku Medical school?’, he asks, eyeing the flyer sticking out of her bag.

‘Mm.’ she mumbles, distracted by the peach juice running down her hands. Then she realises what he’s just said and wrinkles her nose. ‘The entrance exam is hard though. Not a lot of people pass.’

‘Ugh, stop that, your grades are so good- negativity begone!’ He nudges her teasingly with his elbow. She rolls her eyes at him in response.

‘Why, though?’ he asks, before quickly adding. ‘If you don’t mind saying’.

She’s about to rattle off her prepared answer of heeding the noble calling of saving lives and making a difference one person at a time, but for some reason, she doesn’t.

Instead, she jerkily answers - ‘My dad was a doctor’.

She can feel him raise his eyebrows at her use of past tense (and not present tense) and suddenly the peach in her hand doesn’t seem as appetising as it was before.

‘Cancer’, she finds herself saying. ‘Last year’. She looks down at her feet, refusing to see what she expects will be pity in his gaze.

But he doesn’t say anything. He leans his shoulder against hers, and they stay that way for a while.

She doesn’t protest this time when he comes back from the ice cream stall with far too much ice cream, and the tightness in her chest dissipates as she watches him let Yuji flit between his chocolate and vanilla cones like a honeybee, even though she knows she’s going to have a hard time putting the little boy to bed tonight.

-----------------------------------

'I like Suga-san very much.' Yuji declares later as she tucks him into bed.

'So do I', Ume says. So do I’.

The call of the cicadas don’t seem as loud, and she falls asleep easily that night.

 -----------------------------------

‘You should be studying’, she reminds him, playfully rapping on his knuckles with her pen.

He scratches the back of his neck sheepishly, looking up from his sketches on volleyball plays. ‘A couple more minutes and I’ll get back to work’.

She shakes her head indulgently at him. ‘You spend far too much time on volleyball as it is’.

‘I suppose I do’, he hums, busy drawing indecipherable pictures in what she’s termed his volleyball notebook.

She’s suddenly reminded of Yamada and Takashi, the two basketball idiots in her class, goading Suga about ‘being a loser for losing his starting position to a first year’. Sawamura usually erupts in anger when he hears them as he’s wont to do whenever he encounters the basketball club, but Suga, for his part, only responds with a serene smile.

‘Is it worth it?’ she asks, before she can stop herself. ‘Sorry’ she says frantically, as her brain catches up with her mouth. ‘That was rude of me’.

He breathes a rueful laugh through his nose. ‘It’s fine, I’m not offended’. But he stops his scribbling, and his mouth slants downward in a way that Ume doesn’t quite like.

‘It’s worth it’, he then says, voice quiet but full of conviction. ‘It’s worth it to play with my team. I want us to keep getting stronger, I want us to keep playing together, and I want us to go to Nationals and win’. He gazes into the distance and smiles, bittersweet. ‘And everything else doesn’t matter’.

It’s her turn to lean into him with her shoulder.

‘I’ll bring Yuji to watch you at the finals’, she says. ‘And we’ll watch you at Nationals on our TV’.

He laughs and she smiles, wide and bold and bright.

---------------------------------- 

Sugawara spends their lunch breaks talking about his team’s latest exploits all the time. She laughs when he tells her about the hijinks that the team constantly gets up to, from setting fire to the Vice Principal’s very obvious toupee, to an all out prank war with the basketball team featuring copious amounts of dead fish and paint bombs. She particularly enjoys Suga’s impression of Nishinoya’s ‘rolling thunder’ war cry, and rather suspects the whole team is intent on driving Sawamura into an early grave.

Despite having a tendency to smile indulgently at his team’s penchant for chaos and hellfire, it’s clear that Suga cares deeply for each and every one of his teammates. He broods about Tsukkishima’s lack of ambition and desire to bond with the team, Yamaguichi’s lack of confidence, Kageyama’s and Hinata’s inability to communicate like regular human beings. Even when he jokes about Ennoshita’s latest attempt to evade Sawamura’s talks about ‘passing on the captainship’, she can sense the undercurrent of worry and concern.

Perhaps that’s why she volunteers to give tutoring Tanaka and Nishinoya a go, after he explains that they’ll end up missing the Tokyo Training Camp that Takeda-sensei went through so much trouble to arrange. She also tells herself that the reason she’s doing it is because Second year Math is covered in the university entrance exams - and absolutely not because Suga practically lights up with relief when she waves his thanks away.

----------------------------------

Tanaka and Nishinoya remind her of Yuji and even Keiji (well, before), rowdy and loud and full of boyish mischief. They fall out of their chairs when they notice Kiyoko-san walk by the classroom deep in conversation with some boy, and she has to rap them on their knuckles with a pen to get them to focus on solving question number two - please and thank you - before they settle back down.

Still, they’re surprisingly attentive and almost respectful even when she’s trying to impress upon them the dryer points of Math, so it’s easy to become fond of them. They get through vectors after she likens the trajectory of vectors to the movement of a volleyball. Statistics were a struggle, but fortunately, volleyball statistics save the day. Calculus seems to be the biggest hurdle, but she’s hopeful they’ll get it, once she finds a way to relate it to volleyball or better yet, convince them that differentiation and integration are very, very manly pursuits.

That said, it doesn’t help that the basketballers in her class seem to have a deep rooted grudge against the volleyball team - though from Suga’s stories, the animosity is probably mutual. Yamada in particular seems to take special pleasure in taunting the two boys.

‘Eh, Baldy! Y’all lose another game yet? I saw you guys crying the other day after school’.

‘They’d probably win more games if chibi-chan here grew a few inches’, Takashi, his fellow basketballer sniggers.

‘Ignore them’, she tells the two growling boys firmly. ‘You don’t need to get kicked out of your team for starting a fight with these guys’.

‘Awww… are you two kouhai hiding behind your female senpai? ’ Yamadai jeers, leering at them. ‘What losers, just like your Suga-senpai. Heard he got turfed out of his starting position by a first year’.

At that, Tanaka and Nishinoya practically levitate out of their seats as one, snarling ‘Huh?!!! You fucking -’

‘Bit rich of you to pick on them, eh Yamada?’ Ume interrupts. ‘I heard Ono-senpai say last week that if you fail your tests one more time, you’re going to get kicked out of the basketball team. Who’s the loser now?’

‘Bitch!’ Yamada growls, hands slapping his desk.

‘Maybe you’d have a better shot at passing your exams if you spent your time studying instead of disturbing others - who unlike you are actually working hard,’ she adds, smiling at him sweetly.

Thankfully, Takashi has some sense of self-preservation and drags Yamada kicking and screaming out of the door. Tanaka and Noya swivel their heads towards her, twin expressions of shock on their faces.

‘Holy shit, that was so manly?!’

‘Imai-senpai, you’re almost as cool as Kiyoko-senpai!’

‘Yeah - almost as good as the time she ignored us when we asked her to marry us.’

‘No - better, but not as good as the time she slapped me’

‘Thank you’, she responds dryly. ‘Can we get back to differentiation, please?

‘Yes, Imai-senpai!’ They snap into a salute.

----------------------------------

‘I hear from Tanaka and Noya that you’re very manly’. His eyes twinkle at her.

‘Psh’, she says airily. ‘They exaggerate’.

But she laughs when he slips her half his sandwich as thanks.

----------------------------------

Noya and Tanaka pass their exams (by some miracle, thank god), and they graduate from her tutoring sessions.

She passes her exams too, tops her cohort even.

Her classmates start to take more notice of her, requesting for copies of her notes and tutoring sessions on topics they don’t really grasp. It's not really that much of a problem to just have an extra set of notes for her classmates to copy (she learnt her lesson when Takashi spills juice all over her precious biology notes - an accident, of course), and extra tutoring sessions are a good way for her to revise what she previously learnt - so she doesn’t really mind.

Of course she knows they think they're picking her brains and hard work, but it's not as if she minds. They're reasonably polite when they approach her, and she can pretend she doesn’t hear them gossip about her behind her back (that her parents are rich enough to send her to not one, but two cram schools, that they must know the principal who leaked the exam topics to her somehow).

Still, she can’t help but feel a spike of irritation when Yamada manages to corner her alone in class one day after school.

‘Oi, Ikai. Can you give me a copy of your math notes? I hear they're pretty good.'

She blinks innocently at him. ‘My notes cover whatever sensei taught in class if you were listening’. Which he probably wasn't, considering he seems to spend most of his time tossing spitballs or bouncing a basketball obnoxiously against the wall.

‘Tch.’ He leans towards her. ‘Come on, don’t be a stingy bitch. Just lend them to me for a bit.’

She narrows her eyes at the audacity of this bugger. 'No.' she says simply.

'Eh?' Yamada glares down at her.

'Did a basketball hit you too hard in the head yesterday? I said no.' She turns her back on him, packing her school bag, keeping her sharpest pencil in her hand, just in case.

He takes a step closer towards her, both hands heavy on her desk. 'But you share your notes with everyone else!’

‘Well, yes - but that’s because they're tolerably polite when they ask, and unlike you, they actually get my name right.’

He slaps her table hard with his hands. ‘Stop being a bitch, just give me your notes already'.

She should just give him what he's asking for or placate him with the promise that she'll give him a copy tomorrow - but she suddenly feels so sick and tired of giving more and more of herself - to her mother, her brothers, her classmates, and now this rude asshole - and she's so done, goddamnit.

'No.' She snaps, lifting her chin defiantly at him. 'What are you going to do about it?'

He snarls, grabbing hold of her wrist. 'Stubborn bitch, just give me the notes already!'

'Let go, pig!', she shouts, trying to wrench her wrist away, mind whirring to calculate the force and speed needed to shove her pencil into his face. His grip tightens, and he digs his nails into the thin skin of her wrist.

He smirks down at her. She tries not to flinch.

'Hey, Imai. Got worried about you when you didn’t turn up at the library.' Suga calls out, loud and clear from the door. Ume exhales a breath she didn’t even know she was holding as he walks deliberately towards them.

‘Yamada-san. I always knew you were an asshole, but I didn’t know you stooped so low you’d bully a girl’.

Yamada takes a half step back, but does not release her hand. 'Piss off, Suga. It’s none of your business'.

‘Perhaps’, he responds, humming diffidently. ‘But I thought I should remind you that if you get just one more strike on your disciplinary record, you’re off the basketball team’. His mouth stretches into a semi feral smile. ‘For good.’

Yamada coils back, looking as if he’d like nothing better than to strike Suga in the face, but then, seemingly thinking the better of it, he drops Ume’s wrist and smirks again. ‘We were just having a friendly discussion, eh Imai?’

‘Remind your thick skull to keep it that way.’ Suga says, meeting Yamada’s glare with an even gaze of his own.

Yamada looks away. 'Tch. I can't be bothered with you dumbasses', he sneers, stalking out of the class.

‘Are you ok?’ Suga asks her immediately, glancing at her once over, stopping short when he spots the red welts ringed around her wrist. ‘Did he do that to you?’ he asks, voice dangerous.

‘I’m fine.’ She follows his gaze and yanks her sleeve down, hiding the marks from view. ‘It’s nothing.’

He opens his mouth, about to insist that it is very much not fine, but she cut him off quickly. ‘Really! It’s my fault he got annoyed with me. He wanted a copy of my notes and I was very rude and didn’t want to give them to him,’ she laughs awkwardly. ‘Besides, it’s a good thing you stepped in when you did, or I’d have gotten into more trouble - because I was about to stab him with my pencil’.

Suga’s mouth drops open. ‘With your what?’

She unfurls her palm to show him her pencil, pink and sharp but altogether unconvincing.

He bursts into cackles, wheezing. ‘Maybe Tanaka should’ve taken his time to get me. I would’ve liked to see you try to fight Yamada with that’.

She snorts. ‘I’m just glad Tanaka showed some self-restraint and didn’t jump Yamada himself.’

‘Well, I’m pretty sure that’s because Ennoshita was there to stop him.’ Suga says wryly. He drops his gaze back to her wrist. ‘But seriously, if I’d known he hurt you, I’d have jumped him too’.

She looks at him sharply. ‘Suga… If any one of you get suspended, you can’t play in the Inter High Preliminaries.’

‘Not if we don’t get caught for it’. He gives her a zen smile as she splutters in shock. ‘Anyway, don’t you usually leave school to pick Yuji-chan up by now?’

‘Oh no, Yuji’s probably waiting for me!’ She cries out in alarm, dashing across the classroom.

At the doorway, she comes to a pause and turns around. ‘Suga!’

‘Mm?’ He tilts his head at her.

She smiles shyly. ‘Thanks’.

He smiles back. 

----------------------------------

She ends up preparing a copy of her notes for Yamada anyway. He’s stubborn and stupid, and she figures that Suga’s interference, while welcome in the moment, is only likely to spur him on to pester her again. But when she walked into class the next morning, Yamada is nowhere to be found.

‘Did you hear Yamada-kun got caught with the vice principal’s burnt wig in his locker?’ she hears Yuna whisper to Mizuki before the bell rings.

‘Oh no! Is he in a lot of trouble?’ Mizuki gasps.

‘I don’t know, but I heard from Takashi that he’s been suspended from the basketball team indefinitely!’

‘No! Don’t they have a game next week?’

Ume looks over her shoulder at Suga, sitting with a self-satisfied smirk on his face.

‘I may have mentioned to Noya what happened with Yamada-san. Tanaka, of course, was very happy to help out’, he says simply when she corners him after school.

Yamada does return to class eventually, but he refuses to even look in her direction for the next month. She figures she’d much rather not press for answers she suspects she wouldn’t like. Instead, she spends the night cutting out twelve crow charms from black felt with the help of a very eager Yuji, hand stitching each member’s number in white thread and leaving them in Suga’s bag for him to find.

 ------------------------------------

She sneaks Yuji with her when the school buses students in for Karasuno’s match with Shiratorizawa.

They all watch with tears in their eyes when the final whistle blows and the boys win.

‘Congratulations, Suga’, she tells him the next day and adds. ‘I think Yuji’s found a new way to fly’.

He grins at her, his eyes burning proud and bright.

 ------------------------------------

Fall fades into winter. The days start looping, one after another.

Wake up. Get Yuji to kindergarten. School. Homework. Pick Yuji up. Make dinner. Pack leftovers for lunch. Do laundry. Revision. Tuck Yuji into bed. More Revision. Sleep.

Rinse. Repeat. Rinse. Repeat.

She curses when the cock crows every morning, and falls asleep before her head hits the pillow every night, so she wonders how he manages to survive with practices lasting daily into the night. Or maybe he doesn’t, she thinks to herself, watching the shadows beneath his eyes grow, grey and dark.

‘Is it worth it?’ she asks. (Do you ever regret it, she implies.)

‘Yes.’ he says. (At least I hope I don’t, he sighs.)

 ----------------------------------

 She notices immediately when his seat is empty. Sawamura tells her it’s to be expected, Suga always catches a cold in winter.

‘I don’t mind helping to bring his homework to him’, she volunteers. ‘You’re going to be staying late in school for practice anyway’. She avoids Sawamura’s knowing look as she writes Suga’s address down, his homework tucked safely into her bag. 

His mother beams, surprised and delighted when she appears at their door. She’s promptly shooed upstairs, and Yuji is lured into the kitchen with promises of mochi and ice cream. She knocks on the open door. He’s crouched on the bed, watching a replay of Karasuno’s finals match against Shiratorizawa.

‘Hey. I brought your homework.’ She frowns, noting the paleness of his face despite the redness of his cheeks. ‘Shouldn’t you be resting?’

‘I’m watching the match to fall asleep!’ he says defensively.

‘The match is at least two hours long! If you’re well enough to watch the match, you’re well enough to do your homework’.

‘Give me a break’. He groans, sneezing into the crook of his elbow. ‘I’m dying here’.

‘I’m pretty sure you can’t die from a common cold’ she says dryly.

‘Says the one who wants to be a doctor’, he playfully responds.

She rolls her eyes. ‘Don’t argue with me. Get some rest. You don’t have much time before you head off to Tokyo for Nationals, and the Center Shinken* is just after that’.

His smile drops, and he suddenly looks troubled. ‘Do you think I’m crazy?’

(For chasing too many dreams?)

She blinks, confused by his change in mood. She glances at the Miyagi University of Education pamphlet pinned to his wall - only one in three applicants get in. She furrows her brow, thinking about him spending every lunch break, every afternoon and night in their rundown school gym, even as everyone else is spending their days buried in schoolwork and revision.

But then she hears the echo of his words - It’s worth it. I want to play with my team, the cries from the huddle of boys, the memory of him holding a trophy under bright lights and her face softens.

‘Where’s all this self-doubt coming from?’ she says lightly. ‘You already achieved your dream of going to Nationals with your team. Now all you have to do is pass one exam.’

‘As if it’s so easy!’

‘Well, it’d be easier if you rest up so you can get back to work faster!’

‘Ugh, spoilsport’, he pouts at her.

‘Onee-chan’, Yuji pipes up, poking his head into the bedroom. 'Obaa-san said it's time for Suga-san to eat his medicine and take a nap.'

‘Hello, Yuji-chan!’ Suga waves at Yuji, who gives him a gap toothed grin in response.

‘You should tuck him in and tell him a bedtime story’. Yuji tells his sister seriously. She chokes and thinks she should have taken the chance to dump him under a bridge when he was a baby.

Suga laughs so hard he wheezes. 'I won't mind a bedtime story' he chokes out.

Both boys turn to look at her expectantly. 'Fine.' she says, relenting. 'I’ll tell you a bedtime story if you promise you'll try your best to go to sleep'.

They grin and settle down, Yuji on his sister’s lap, Suga laying against his nest of pillows.

She begins telling them a story she’s told Yuji many, many times these past months - about a kind-hearted Prince in a kingdom troubled by a yearly winter plague, who set out to find the cure for this illness, flowers that bloom on the highest of mountains in the deepest, darkest winter days. A Prince who tries to scale the mountain to find the cure, year after year, but is thwarted by blizzards and avalanches and snow monsters.

A small smile grows on his lips as she describes the Prince’s companions - the stalwart captain of his guards, the burly woodcutter with a heart of glass, and he stifles a laugh when she recounts how the Prince manages to trick his frosty hearted little brother to join them along the way. His breath evens out when she reaches the end of her tale, when the Prince and his companions scale the mountain and look down on a field of flowers, green and gold.

'And they lived happily ever after?' Suga murmurs, half asleep.

'And they lived happily ever after' Ume agrees.

She pulls his blanket up under his chin as he slips into sleep, hesitating as warmth furls and unfurls in her chest, before brushing her hand tenderly against his cheek.

----------------------------------

Third years are released from school for self-study.

She works alone at home. The winter days grow long and dark and hard.

(Her heart clenches. It starts to ache.)

----------------------------------

They graduate on a spring day, a shower of pink and white petals blessing their way. He catches up to her in the hallway after the graduation ceremony, hand at her sleeve.

‘Congrats on Tohoku’, he tells her, bright eyed. ‘I knew you could do it’.

‘Congrats on MUE’, she responds with a laugh. ‘See - you weren’t crazy after all’.

‘I suppose I’ll be seeing you around Sendai City? Your campus isn’t too far from mine.’

She opens her mouth to tell him not to be silly - Sendai City is nothing like Karasuno town, a million people within its bounds, and the probability of them meeting randomly on the streets is very, very small, but her throat suddenly becomes dry.

‘Suga’ she begins, balling her hands into fists.

‘Mm?’ he beams at her, brighter than the sun, and it’s all she can do to not to look away.

‘Thank you’, she says quietly. ‘For bringing some light into my life’.

‘I should be thanking you’, he replies earnestly. ‘You’ve been a good friend to me this past year. I don’t think I’d have passed my exams without you’.

“No, Suga,’ she says. ‘I mean - I like you’.

‘Oh.’ he breathes. ‘Oh’.

‘I like you’, she repeats, her voice growing stronger. ‘Because you were kind to me when there was no reason to. You bought bread for me, even if you ended up throwing it in my face. You stole and burnt a wig for me, just to put Yamada in his place. You spent your summer days buying Yuji too much ice cream, swinging him so high he thought he could touch the sky.’

‘I like you, Suga,’ she says finally. ‘Not just as a friend - but as a girl likes a boy.’

He stares at her, eyes wide. A few beats of silence pass.

‘I’m sorry’. He grimaces. ‘I don’t know what to say’.

‘It’s fine’, she finds herself saying. ‘It’s ok’.

(Her heart clenches. She wills it not to break.)

----------------------------------

Ume does not look back. Her bag is packed, and she leaves for Sendai City that week.

Her apartment is small, but she shares it with a few other girls. At night, she re-acquaints herself with the sound of cars rumbling on the street. The song of the cicadas haunts her in her sleep.

(Her heart clenches. She does not break.)

----------------------------------

Suga prides himself on being relatively observant and good with things like subtlety and tact and feelings - things that volleyball obsessed idiots like Daichi wouldn’t even notice if it hit him in the face.

He observes people and notices things, the way Kiyoko isn’t as indifferent to Tanaka as she seems, the way Yamaguchi’s serve suddenly improves when Yachi shouts ‘Gambatte’, the way Yui’s vocabulary immediately regresses whenever she’s talking to Daichi - though to be fair, he’s certain the only person in their level to not know about Yui’s crush on Daichi himself, so maybe that doesn’t count.

(‘I like you, Suga,’ he hears her say. ‘Not just as a friend - but as a girl likes a boy.’)

But then his brain short circuits and stutters to a stop, and it’s all he can do to watch dumbly as Ume turns on her heel and walks off, head high, back straight, he wonders if he’s not much better than the rest of them after all.

----------------------------------

‘Imai Ume said she likes me’. He finds himself telling Daichi, as they walk home from school, pork buns in hand, for the very last time.

Daichi grunts something unintelligible through a mouthful of pork bun.

‘Use your words, Daichi’. Suga can’t help but snark. Daichi grumbles and swallows.

‘Yes. I knew that already’. Daichi says simply. He starts on his second pork bun.

‘What?’ Suga retorts. ‘What do you mean you know? How did you know?’

This time, Daichi chews and swallows before he responds. ‘It was obvious to me.’ He turns to look at Suga squarely. ‘So what are you going to do about it?’

----------------------------------

(‘I’m Sugawara Koushi! But everyone just calls me Suga’. // ‘Imai Ume. It’s nice to meet you.’)

To be honest, he didn't think much of her at first when she joined their class. She had a habit of keeping to herself, never lingering in class before or after lessons, eating lunch alone at her desk, nose buried in a book, but he was brought up with good manners - so he kept greeting her every morning until her small nods turn into quiet smiles.

Of course, he just had to embarrass himself by hitting her in the face with a curry bun (Noya and Tanaka will never let him live it down), but in hindsight that probably kickstarted their friendship. And he’s very grateful for it. She's always passing him copies of her notes for lessons he’s missed or summaries of exam topics she thinks might come in useful, all painstakingly handwritten and colour coded - and even gives him the go-ahead to share it with Daichi. She volunteers to tutor Noya and Tanaka, and he’s sure that it’s in no small part due to her effort that they pass and get to attend training camp.

Yet he’s never considered her more than a friend. Right?

Right?

If he analyses the case of how he feels about one Imai Ume carefully, sifting through the puzzle pieces one at a time, he realises that he's not quite right.

There are little things that come to mind. Like his heart skipping a beat when he hears her laugh for the first time. The flush of his cheeks when he finds out she actually brought Yuji to watch their games. The rush of pride and joy when she tells him ‘I think he’s found a new way to fly’.

And maybe there are bigger things. Like the burst of blind panic in his chest when he hears Tanaka shout for him. The burning urge to break Yamada’s jaw and wipe that smirk off his ugly face when he sees red marks marring her skin. The cold satisfaction in his chest when he (and half the volleyball team) strike that bastard exactly where it hurts.

He remembers the sunshine dancing on her skin, the warmth of her shoulder pressed against his. The touch of her hand ghosting against his cheek. The faint memory of a fairytale about a Prince who gave his all and finds everything he set out to seek.

('And they lived happily ever after?' he asks // 'And they lived happily ever after' she agrees.)

The puzzle pieces fit. It finally clicks.

‘Shit,’ he swears, dialing Daichi’s number.

‘It’s midnight’, Daichi mumbles, voice rough with sleep. ‘What could you possibly want from me?’

‘I like Ume’, Suga says - and just saying it feels right. ‘I like her, Daichi’.

He hears an almighty yawn - and then he can almost see Daichi smile.

‘So what are you going to do about it?’

----------------------------------

What is he going to do about it?

Get hold of one Imai Ume and tell her that his mouth moved faster than his brain (and heart), of course. 

----------------------------------

But what can he do about it?

Not very much, as it turns out.

For starters, he realises they’ve never exchanged numbers. He never felt the need to, they were classmates, no, seatmates, so she was always there, like the sun and stars in the sky.

He tries to find where she lives by asking around but soon meets a dead end. Karasuno Town isn’t large by any measure, the main shopping street fanning out into a smattering of small rural neighbourhoods. But he knows for a fact that Ume stays with her maternal grandparents, and she’s never once mentioned their surname, so he’s left with little to go on.

‘At least I know she’s moving to Sendai City’, he mopes to Daichi over a steaming bowl of ramen.

Daichi, probably tired of the number of times he’s heard him repeat this, just slurps his noodles noisily.

----------------------------------

He and Daichi rent a flat from a little old lady who pats their chests and pinches their cheeks. It’s halfway between their schools, five minutes from the convenience store, and the rent is pretty cheap.

They soon settle into the rhythm of university life. They cycle to school in the mornings for lectures, struggle with tutorials, and fight over chores. Their social life isn’t too shabby either - they both make plenty of friends and even join volleyball teams.

Still, Suga can’t help feeling like something’s missing. ‘Someone, not something, you dolt’, his inner voice tells him, sounding suspiciously like Daichi.

He starts seeing the ghost of her everywhere.

He stares when he sees the slant of her shoulders in his classmate in the front seat. He crashes into Daichi when he thinks he hears the birdsong of her laughter float down the street. He picks up a habit of doing a double take at almost every girl he meets.

‘Stop it’, Daichi tells him crossly. ‘People are going to think you’re some kind of freak or pervert.’

He tries, he really does. But then months pass, and he starts to think that maybe Sendai City, with its million residents and a million more trees, might have hidden her out of his reach.

 ---------------------------------- 

Summer arrives, and he returns home to Karasuno. He and Daichi and Asahi find themselves back in the school gym often, and he finds himself being dragged into practice match after practice match with his unruly kouhai. It’s a good way to spend his holidays, but he can’t help thinking if there isn’t a route he hasn’t explored yet.

‘No, Sugawara-kun, I can’t give you the contact details of our alumni, even if they’re your old classmates’, Takada-sensei says indignantly. ‘And don’t even think about breaking into the staff room at night!’

Eh. At least that was worth a try.

----------------------------------

Tashiro senpai means well, he really does. But Daichi lets it slip that he’s been moping over some girl (‘For months!’, he roars), so on a Friday night, Suga finds himself thrust head first into a party at Tashiro’s apartment, surrounded by way too many people and not enough food. Daichi’s chatting with Yui (Go, Yui!), and he doesn’t know anyone else, so he doesn’t say no when Tashiro pushes cans of beer and cups of cheap spirits into his hands.

He’s a few months short of being able to legally drink, and it’s the first time he’s drinking outside his family home - but well, what Daichi doesn’t know won’t kill him. Soon though, the living room feels far too warm and the music is far too loud, so he figures he may as well seek fresh air and whatever refuge he can get on the cramped balcony beyond the kitchen.

He leans his forehead against the bannister. Gah. His head hurts. His stomach churns.

A raindrop splatters on to the back of his neck, then another, and soon he can hear the gentle patter of rain against the roof. He rights himself with a groan, and begins to head back inside. As he slides the glass door open, he turns and sees the silhouette of a girl emerge into the balcony, two apartments down, clearing her clothes from the laundry rack.

He stops. He can almost hear Daichi roaring at him at the back of his mind, but Suga can’t help but stare and think ‘there’s something awfully familiar about that girl’, but then - hasn’t he thought that about almost every girl he’s bumped into these past few months?

She takes a step forward and her face is lit by cheap fluorescent lights. He can see her clearly now, recognises the tilt of her chin, the curve of her cheeks and - by god, it’s her. His legs move and he lurches to the edge of the balcony, shouting her name like a loon.

Their eyes meet.

She yelps. And promptly drops her laundry basket, scrambling back inside.

He dashes back into Tashiro’s living room and trips into the corridor, ignoring Daichi’s shouts as he slams his fists into her front door. Her door remains stubbornly closed, and he keeps yelling, keeps beating her door. He can hear Daichi follow him, and he’s certain he’s going to get a bollocking tomorrow morning, but he doesn’t care, he’s finally found her in the midst of a million people and a million more trees and nothing else really matters.

The door swings open, and Imai Ume stands in the doorway looking livid. ‘My roommate is this close to calling the police,’ she hisses.

Daichi yanks him back with his shirt and snaps into a low bow. ‘Sorry for the trouble caused’, he says, and adds - that sly dog, ‘He may have drank a bit too much Umeshu’.

‘For God’s sake, Sawamura’, he faintly hears her squawk. ‘Can’t you take care of him a little better? He looks like absolute shit’.

Suga stares at her glassy-eyed. All he wants to do is to take her hand and tell her all the things he’s dreamt of saying these past few months (starting with I’m sorry I was an idiot- and ending with I missed you) - but his mind is suddenly foggy and his ears are ringing and his stomach keeps bloody churning and he suspects his body might have just given up on him completely.

‘I told you’, he manages to say. ‘I told you we’d see each other again’.

He pukes at her feet and promptly passes out. 

----------------------------------

When he wakes up, the sun is high in the sky, and he knows because he’s pretty sure it’s trying to stab him between the eyes. He flops over to his side.

What happened last night?

He cracks an eye open. He’s pretty sure he isn’t wearing his own pyjamas. The sweatshirt he has on is a touch too snug, the pants a touch too short - so definitely not Daichi’s either. He can’t be in Tashiro-senpai’s room either, because one, he’s pretty certain floral bedsheets aren’t his thing, and two, if he squints, he can see a pile of medical textbooks in the corner that definitely does not belong to him.

He groans, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, groping bleary eyed for his phone.

- You have 7 messages! -

[Daichi, 12.48am]: You are a very lucky man [Daichi, 12.48am]: Imai didn’t call the police on you [Daichi, 12.49am]: I had to clean up your puke [Daichi, 12.49am]: Wanted to lug you home but you’re heavier than you look [Daichi, 12.49am]: So she said to leave you and walk Michimiya home [Daichi, 12.50am]: Figure you’ll thank me anyway [Daichi, 12.51am]: Stay safe. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do

‘You have got to be kidding me’, he moans. Fuck. His head still hurts.

Ume pokes her head into the room. ‘Oh, you’re awake. Feeling better?’

He snaps his head up and immediately regrets it. ‘Ow’, he whines, dropping his head in his hands.

‘I guess not’, she says. ‘Here’, she pokes him in the side. ‘Spare toothbrush. Wash up, and I’ll get breakfast ready so you can eat some meds’. She tugs him to his feet and pushes him into the bathroom.

This isn’t how he imagined meeting Ume again would be like. Getting piss drunk, puking at her door, and passing out in her bed? He’d take getting arrested over this any day, he thinks, moping to himself. Not to mention Daichi's probably going to kill him when he gets back. He shudders, then winces as he splashes cold water into his face.

Ume waves him into the kitchen. ‘Sit’, she says, and so he does. She sets a bowl of rice and fish and miso soup in front of him. ‘Eat’ she says, sliding a bottle of aspirin and a cup of hot tea at him. His stomach still hurts, but he's not about to let her effort go to waste.

‘Ittakimasu’, he says, putting his hands together, inclining his head slightly. Ume nods and sits across him, sipping her tea.

‘Thank you’, he says contritely. 'I'm sorry for the trouble I caused last night'.

‘It’s no problem. I managed to convince my roommates you were just a drunk ex-classmate, not some rapist or serial killer so they let you in', she hums, amused.

He groans. ‘I’m so sorry’.

'It's fine', she says, waving him away. 'I think Sawamura was a lot more mad than my roommates, since he had to clear your mess and then wrangle you into clean clothes’.

‘Well I think Daichi got to walk Michimiya home last night, so I don’t think he’ll be too mad’, he says drolly. She laughs at that, turning to clear the dishes into the sink.

‘Hey, Imai’. He takes a gulp of his tea, his throat suddenly dry.

‘Mm?’

‘'I - I missed you - you know, as a friend', he stammers at his hands. 'And I’d like to see you again. Maybe we could catch up over dinner sometime this weekend?'

She stills for a few seconds. 'I don't think it’d be a good idea to do that', she finally says.

His heart clenches. He wonders if he’s too late - if the distance that Sendai city with its million people and a million more trees has put between them is too great, if she no longer remembers their shared smiles and golden summer days. But then he sees the stack of blankets tucked into the corner of the couch, sees the food she must have woken up early to make, and wonders how his past self could have been so blind.

‘Imai’, he says. She keeps her eyes resolutely on the dish sponge in her hands. He exhales, and tells himself that it’s his turn to be brave. He takes a step towards her.

‘Ume’, he repeats, taking her hands into his. ‘Look at me’.

‘Stop it Suga! My hands are soapy’, she cries.

‘Nevermind that’, he says stubbornly. ‘Listen - I’m an idiot - and a coward. I meant it when I said I missed you, but I didn’t mean it as a friend’.

‘Wha-’, she begins to say but he cuts her off.

‘I like you, Imai Ume’, he breathes, bringing her hands close to his face. ‘I really like you - as a boy likes a girl. I want to keep holding your hands. I want to see you again - see you everyday, if you’ll let me'.

Her eyes widen, then she blinks slowly - once, twice, thrice.

‘Do you mean it?’ she asks, her eyes meeting his, and he’s struck by the thought that the stars in her eyes are so bright they can light up the night sky.

‘Why would I lie?’ he answers. ‘I’ve been looking over my shoulder every day for the past six months, hoping desperately to see you again.’

‘Oh', she breathes. ‘Oh’.

She gives him a look so full of affection and warmth - like sunlight breaking through the rain - that he knows he was right to be brave, knows that the past six months of searching and dreaming and longing hadn’t been a waste.

‘So… I take it you want to see me again?’ he asks cheekily.

‘Maybe’, she says, but her voice is teasing and she leans on to her toes to press her lips gently against his cheek.

‘I - I take that as a yes?’ he stutters and hates himself for flushing a bright pink, but refuses to release her hands.

‘Let me wash my hands first. Then - yes’, and she laughs, wide and bold and bright. 

----------------------------------

Coda

----------------------------------

 He opens the door and smiles at what has become a very familiar sight these past few weeks - Ume fast asleep at the kitchen table next to a half empty pot of tea, head pillowed against her textbooks. Usually, he’d just scoop her up and put her to bed, but they’ve not had much time together this week, what with him running all over the prefecture with his fledgling team for practice matches, and she with work and exams, so he decides to be a little selfish.

‘Ume’, he calls, shaking her shoulder gently. ‘Dearest. Wake Up.’

‘Mmph. Five more minutes. Go away.’ She mumbles, pushing his hand away.

‘Ume. Ummmeee,’ He drags out her name, finding extra syllables where there were previously none until she stirs, grumbling incoherently and he has to stifle a laugh when she swipes her hand across her mouth.

‘Oh! It’s you. Welcome home’, she folds herself upright, rubbing her eyes slowly. ‘Where’s Yuji? How was the match?’

‘Of course it’s me – who else would it be?’ he chuckles. ‘I dropped Yuji off at Kei-kun’s place for a sleepover with the team, they promised not to stay up all night eating junk and watching crappy movies but I don’t believe them. The match was great - we won! Yuji-chan did really well, he earned quite a few points and saved a few balls. You would’ve been proud of him. I know I was.’

‘That’s good, I’m sure he’ll tell me all about it tomorrow when he’s back.’ She nods towards the fridge. ‘I made mapo tofu for dinner – not too spicy though, your stomach will thank me after that long bus ride back.’

He hums a thanks, sliding the plate into the microwave, narrating a play by play of their match today, stopping only when he hears a loud yawn.

‘Go to bed, Ume’, he frowns at the lines of exhaustion on her face. ‘I shouldn’t be keeping you up, you have a morning shift tomorrow.’

‘Mm – I will, later. Was waiting for you. Mm’ not that tired,’ she protests, but then yawns again so widely he’s pretty sure he hears her jaw crack.

‘Bedtime, sleepyhead’, he says teasingly, lifting her into his chest.

It’s a testament to how tired she is when she doesn’t try to swat at him as she usually does, choosing instead to wrap her arms around him, pressing her face into his neck. His breath hitches, and he wants nothing more than to hold her close and hide in bed preferably forever, but reminds himself that they’re adults now (with awful things like jobs and responsibilities and worse, bills to pay), so he settles her onto their bed, tucking the pillow beneath her head, the sheets under her chin.

‘Goodnight, sweetheart. We’ll catch up properly on the weekend’, he whispers, pressing a kiss into her dark hair.

‘Mmph, love you’, she mumbles, half asleep.

‘Love you too’, he shuts the door with a click, a soft smile on his face.

He’s mentioned off-hand to her before that they’re lucky to be this happy.

‘It’s not all luck’, he remembers her replying. ‘Happiness isn’t easy to come by. It’s a choice. It takes effort and hard work to earn that choice, and you need to take the time to build it up, brick by brick, piece by piece.’

He used to wonder what she meant by that - but six years in, and he thinks he finally understands what she means.

She’s meticulous in the way she makes him happy - the way she catalogues his quirks and deals patiently with his follies. How she knows to always leave food in the fridge for him after work so he won’t get cranky. How she tries her best to stay up and listen to him complain about his frustrations with pushy parents or irresponsible kids, how she tries to watch every one of his (and Yuji’s) games should time permit. He can see it even in the way she smiles indulgently when she sends him off with Daichi and Tanaka for izakaya and drinks.

For his part - he wonders if he does enough. He wakes up early most mornings to hitch a ride with her to work so they get a chance to chat about their day. He buys flowers from the florist down the street for her every week, and slips sandwiches and post-it notes in her work bag when he knows she’s had a long shift. He holds her close when she collapses on the couch, boneless and exhausted from a hard day.

He thinks about the life they share - weeknights spent sitting together, him sketching lesson plans and volleyball plays and she reading up for exams and work cases, weekends spent in grocery stores and parks and volleyball games. Six years together - they’re happy, and they show it in the quietest of ways.

They’re driving back to Karasuno this weekend - ostensibly to celebrate Keiji’s birthday and meet a couple of friends. But he’s conspired with Keiji and Yuji so he can sneak her away to the park for a picnic under the tree where they share memories of long, quiet talks and golden summer days. He’s hidden her ring in a picnic box full of homemade onigiri and sandwiches, strawberries and peaches.

He plans to go down on one knee and ask if she’d like to continue working on being happy with him forever.

He hopes she’ll say yes.

(She does.)

#haikyuu #haikyuu fic rec #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu angst #haikyu x reader #sugawara #sugawara fic #sugawara headcanon #sugamama #haikyuu fluff #karasuno #haikyuu fic #sugawara x reader #suga

[sweeethinny]

Prompt idea (if u have the time:)): hinny taking 3-4 yr old teddy to a muggle amusement park. Or Disneyland I would looovvee for them to meet Mickey and Minnie and go on a few rides:)))

I LOVED WRITING THIS. (I left Teddy with six years old, so he could enjoy more)

I never went to Disney, in fact, I never left the South of Brazil, which is where I live, so like that, I really have no idea what a Disney park is like, only by videos and photos, so if there is something wrong, please ignore I love to write about these simple moments of Harry with the family, and I think this one shot was really good, thanks for the prompt! (it got a little big, but who cares?)

Teddy had been asking for a time to make this trip, Mathew, one of his classmates, had already been to the park more than four times and always came back with news, which left the boy saddened that he could not meet.

Harry rented several films of Mickey Mouse and his friends, his weekends together were based on watching that mouse go by boat, drive a car or build a house. But still, it didn't seem enough.

During the mid-year vacation, Harry managed to take a week off, just like Ginny, and they bought plan tickets to that park in the United States (because Teddy wanted to live the whole experience, and Andromeda was saying that the boy would not be well in a portal key)

None of the three had ever traveled by plane, so when they got on that machine, Ginny was already feeling sick and feeling a cold sweat running down her back.

''How can this be safe?'' She could barely look out the window as the pilot took off

''You fly on a broom, Gin-Gin'' Teddy looked shocked by his godmother's fear ''Will it be long? Wooow, look at this'' He pointed to the small screen in front of them, with the path the plane would take, movies and games to distract bored children and adults.

''I control the broom, and it's just me on it, not me and 100 more people'' She sighed, looking over the head of the godson who was enjoying the technology, staring at Harry who smiled more excitedly than ever ''You seem very happy for someone who is going to a playground''

''I always wanted to meet'' he admitted, not in the least resentful that he was finally going to Disney. He was sure that if it went with the Dursleys, it would be as bad as that time at the zoo.

The trip was fine, after a while Ginny seemed amazed that they were passing through the clouds, as well as Teddy on her lap and Harry who sneaked in to get to see too.

Harry had bought the tickets for three days, and it only started tomorrow, so by the time they arrived around 11AM, Teddy already looked like he was about to pass out from anxiety.

''Let's go for a walk around town first, buddy'' Harry reminded him, packing his muggle clothes and looking in the mirror of the hotel room they had rented ‘'Let's go to the beach, to the mall, we can have ice cream .. Even eat hamburgers'' The godson smiled from ear to ear, nodding excitedly

Harry was also happy, fulfilled to be traveling and going to see the damn talking mouse he saw in the comic he stole from Dudley, but also, very happy that he could be creating that memory with Teddy

''Why the hell do they have so much ... this thing of buying crappy food?'' Ginny asked, looking curiously at the passing streets, while Harry calmly drove the car they had rented, worried that he needed to use magic here or there ''We've been through more than ten, and we've barely left our neighborhood''

''Fast Food? I don't know, maybe they want to die early'' Harry turned his attention back to the traffic lights, ignoring the conversation Teddy had with Gin about whether or not they could eat one of those.

In the end, she decided that they would only eat once, because she would never let Teddy get clogged with that plastic food

They toured much of Orlando, visited shopping, bought gifts, clothes, toys, even a new sofa, which they would shrink and send by Flu later.

They visited some sights, took a lot of photos, especially when they went to the beach, and ate at one of those fast foods that had passed earlier, even though Ginny kept saying that it wasn’t real food and that there was no way that meat came from a live animal.

''I'm so excited'' Teddy said as soon as they left the American 'Diagonal Alley', which was much bigger than what they had in London, but much more hidden, being in a neighborhood far from the city center. His godson was in his lap, almost sleeping on Harry's shoulder, the hair constantly changing between animated pink and natural blue, sighing tiredly.

''We had a busy day, you need to rest to be able to play tomorrow'' Ginny helped the boy into the car, adjusting the little one in his appropriate seat and making sure he didn't end up with a neck pain from sleeping askew.

''I know .. '' Teddy sighed, closing his eyes before Harry even started the car and returned to where they were staying

''I bought the best tickets, they said we would not be in the public queue and that way we could access the toys more easily''

''You're excited, aren't you?'' Ginny put her hand on his thigh, also resting her head on his shoulder, her cheeks flushed from all the sun they had caught and looking absurdly beautiful wearing that yellow summer dress with her hair stuck up

'' Teddy is so happy and ... it makes me happy '' Harry kissed the top of the red head '' I want him to have amazing memories with me '' Ginny didn't answer, she was also sleeping, and Harry had to smile as he stared that scene, finding it almost unreal that he himself was there.

The next day, it was barely seven in the morning when Teddy jumped out of bed, waking up his godfather with all his enthusiasm, jumping in the middle of the couple and getting them up.

'' We're going to be late '' He whimpered when Ginny got in the shower, and Harry started ordering their breakfast

'' Teddy, we need to eat before we leave, and we're still on time '' Harry reminded him, forcing the boy to stay put while he applied sunscreen on his flushed cheeks '' We don't want you to get burned and be sore the first day, right? '' He fixed the cap his godson had bought the day before, helping him put it on his head.

'' I'm excited '' Teddy justified '' Mathew said that there is a castle, and that inside you can meet Mickey .. Can we meet Mickey? Please''

'' We can '' Harry had to restrain himself from saying that he also wanted to take a picture with that human dressed as the character. Not that he expected it to be a real mouse that was there.

After Ginny got out of the bath, wearing comfortable clothes to walk in a park, and they ate, the three finally headed towards Disney, following the map they had bought so they wouldn't get lost, talking animatedly about what they would do and where they would go when to get there (even if they didn’t quite know what to expect).

''Holy Merlin!'' Ginny looked most shocked when they parked, wide-eyed and blinking in wonder at the immensity of that park, definitely not a simple playground with some giant wheels and anything else that would entertain children.

Even she could almost feel anxious to start going on all the roller coasters around.

''I don't even know where to start'' Harry admitted, feeling like a child in the middle, so happy that his eyes shone with enthusiasm behind his sunglasses. ''Where do you want to start, Teddy?''

''I don't know'' The boy looked just as shocked. Flashing to all the stores, characters and attractions that were just in sight

The three began to stroll with much more enthusiasm than in the city, stopping at themed shops and buying ice cream, sweets, more gifts, and the long-awaited Mickey and Minnie ears, in various colors and shapes. Harry was wearing a traditional one, Ginny with one that was Minnie, blue and red, and Teddy with one from the movie 'Fantasia', which came with a 'wizard' hat, painted with moons and stars.

Ginny dragged them off to ride a roller coaster of terror, and Harry seemed the only one who was somewhat fond of the toy that was completely in the dark, even Teddy screamed with excitement at every descent they took, or scare they took. The next was another roller coaster, but this time with spins and falls, which caused  scream and arms up, while the wind in face seemed to suffocate them.

''That was the coolest thing I've ever done!'' Teddy jumped for joy, his cheeks flushed with the newest emotion

''It looked like I was flying but without the broom, and no control'' Ginny also seemed close to jumping ''Let's go to the one who says it's 3D ..'' And so they went, as many toys as possible, passing through the Tower of Terror (which made Teddy cling to Harry) and a few more roller coasters, some that passed through the water and wet them whole, others that were quiet and let them admire the view

In the end, the time finally came that they most wanted it.

''Let's see Mickey!’' Ginny shouted excitedly as she joined the row, fixing up the Daisy themed hat she had bought and the new sunglasses ''Are you excited?'' Teddy nodded, eating his ice cream sandwich with the Mickey's face ''And you, Harry?''

''Also. Will Minnie be there?'' He could barely contain his enthusiasm, adjusting the tiara with ears on his head, not bothering to look like an idiot.

"I hope so, she looks so cool .. Daisy was super nice to me, and we won't even talk about Cinderella!" Ginny smiled again "Ahhh, we're coming"

''I'm so nervous'' Teddy sighed, seeming to do his utmost to keep from changing his hair color (They were in a dark shade like Harry's)

''Don't be, everything will be fine'' One more couple and it would be them, Harry could barely hold his smile ''Do you think I should take off the tiara?'' Ginny denied next to Teddy

''You look beautiful with her '' Gin nodded

When they were finally called, Harry thought that both he, his godson and his wife, would pass out in excitement. Mickey and Minnie were there! On their fronts!

''HI! What do we have here? Are you eating my face?'' Mickey bent down to be as tall as Teddy, who looked so embarrassed and nervous, and red as a tomato

''Hi, Mr Mickey'' The people around him laughed softly, admiring when the boy hugged him. The camera clicks didn't seem to end, and Ginny was more than excited to decorate the new photo album (which they had purchased with the park theme) with those. "Hi Mrs. Minnie" Teddy greeted the other mouse as well.

''Hello dear, you are very polite'' The woman bent down too, returning the hug. The five took the photo, Harry could barely contain his smile and Ginny looked almost ready to jump for joy when Minnie praised her.

''OK. That was the most incredible thing we've ever done. Forget winning the Quidditch Cup, Minnie praised me!''

''My chances are gone. Minnie, I will never get super you'' Harry admitted, as he took them to another attraction

''Never, it's a shame baby'' Ginny kissed his cheek ''But at least we're already married, so..'' She shrugged

The rest of the day was very lively, and in the end, when they stayed to watch the fireworks, Harry barely knew why he wanted to cry, holding Teddy on his shoulders so he could see better, and smiling like a child.

''It's beautiful'' Ginny leaned on her husband ''And look, we're wizards'' She whispered that part, making the man laugh

"It's because they really try, there's no wand trick," he whispered back, laughing when he saw her wipe a single tear that ran. Harry kissed her, quickly, just to mark that moment  ''Thank you for being here'' 

'’I thank myself for accepting your marriage proposal. I never would have come here if it weren't for you.'' Harry laughed, so happy and light he didn't even look like himself. Ginny stood on tiptoe, pulling Teddy's hand to kiss her ''And with you, my Teddy Bear''

''Our next trip'' Harry started, as they headed back to the parking lot, Teddy still on his shoulders, admiring everything ''It's to Universal's park. I heard they have an attraction about wizards.'' His wife's eyes shone

''It must be hilarious .. We will ''

And they went, but that time, there was one more participant in the trip, one who, already with them at Disney, was just hiding in Ginny's belly

#hinny #harry x ginny #harry potter #teddy lupin #hinny fluff #hinny moments #hinny familiar moments #hinnyprompt #harry potter prompt #hp couples #hp next gen #next gen harry potter #harry one shot #my fic #read-a-hinny-fic

[cosmichoneyedblossoms]

Just Like Candy

Pairing: Bang Chan x Reader

Genre: Angst / Smut

Word Count: 2,791

A/N: I gave the lovey @cho-ji-eun the choice of starting a new imagine for her birthday or finishing the one I had already promised her. Needless to say she said the one I had already started for her, so here it is for my Ji Baby.

“Where’s Woojin? Isn’t he supposed to be your surprise guest?” You asked, plopping down onto the leather sofa and swinging your legs up onto it. Chan hummed in response, his fingers tapping at the keys on the keyboard, music beginning to pour from the speakers. He sighed, rolling back in his chair, your question finally registering as he looked at you.

“He’ll be here in a minute.” He rolled over to you, his gaze focused on your eyes, admiring the unique color they turned under the light of the room, “You sure you want to be in here while we run this live?” His knees met the sofa, his elbows coming to rest on his thighs as he leaned close to you.

“It’s okay, I’ll just play on my phone while you do your thing.” You watched as his cinnamon swirled irises fell to your lips, his tongue slowly swiping over his lips before pulling up into a smile, one that matched the devil’s, “What…?”

“Nothing. Just enjoying the thoughts that ran across my mind.”

“How about you let me on that.” You could see in his eyes that his thoughts weren’t exactly pure, but you were curious to see how risqué they were. His long fingers found their way to the back of your neck, pulling you to him, his lips grazing over your plumpness before the sound of the door opening made him sigh.

“I’m here, I’m here.” Woojin’s melodic tune filled the room as he rolled Chan out of the way to lift your legs and take the space next to you.

“You couldn’t have come like 30 minutes later?” Chan groaned, rolling back to the desk. You started to pull your legs to your square when Woojin rested his arms on your legs.

“You can keep them here, Y/N.” He gave you a gentle smile while his hands rubbed over your bare legs.

“O-okay…” You relaxed into the couch, pulling your phone out to unlock it. Chan’s blood started to boil when he noticed the way that Woojin was ogling you, catching the way that his eyes traced over your shape and you weren’t doing anything to stop him. Jealousy wasn’t something that he usually had to deal with, but watching another guy touch you made him so green-eyed.

“I’m about to start this.” He hissed turning back to the computer, his fingers typing in the website name and signing into it. You glanced over at him, your phone soon vibrating in your hand, telling you that Chan was going live. Insomnia played as Chan moved around in his chair, waving to his fans and jamming out the build-up to the chorus to the song.

But in the end, I get up again—I can’t sleep

“Woo!” Chan’s eyes were focused on the screen as he turned the music down a bit, “Hello everyone. Welcome to Chan’s room!” A wide smile spread over his lips while he made eye contact with the camera, his giggle soon spilling from his chest. As he waited for people to flood into the chat room, he kept an eye on you and Woojin; you noticed him glancing your way every few minutes, your heart skipping a beat every time your eyes met through greeting his fans. Your attention was quickly pulled to the feeling of a hand squeezing your thigh, making you gasp.

“Stop—you know I’m ticklish...” You whispered, attempting to stay as quiet as possible.

“And? Isn’t it about time for you to meet the fans?” He teased, digging his fingers into your flesh, knowing exactly where to grab to make you squeal, but you tried to escape Woojin’s grasp as you heard Chan start to talk.

“Hello, everyone. It’s 11:30 PM.” The laugh that came from Chan made you stop moving even though Woojin was still attacking your ticklish spots, “I came a bit late for you guys, I can’t remember whether I said this before, but I usually work at night. ” Chan continued to talk, trying to ignore the fact that Woojin was touching places on you that only he had ever touched before. He was mad, sure, but could he show that on camera, in front of all of the Stays that were watching at home? No, he couldn’t, but he knew one thing that would really piss you off, “Hello, Stay!” He waved at the camera once more, “Hello, Stay! Stay, who are also my baby girls.” He laughed a bit, letting his hands fall down into his lap, “Stays, if you girls are my baby girls, that would mean I’m your… da...ddy? Moving on!” The snap of your head from the side of the room caused a devilish smile to spread over his lips as he turned on the music.

What the…

You pushed Woojin’s hands from your body, your skin, and blood too hot to have his hands on you. You moved to the one side of the couch, pulling your legs up to your chest, your glare heavy on Chan as he acted like he did nothing wrong. The hour that the live lasted you held it together until he told the camera goodbye—and that's when you lost your cool.

“Thanks for joining me this time, Woojin.” Chan rolled back in his chair until he was next to Woojin who was relaxed in one of the leather chairs.

“No problem, I had fun.”

“I think Y/N and I are about to get some food, would you—”

“Actually, Chan...” You were quick to cut him off, your anger already about to spill over, “I need to have a talk with you before we do anything.”

“About?” He crossed his arms, a sly smile playing upon his lips.

“You damn well know what about.” You hissed, throwing your phone to the vacant side of the couch as you stood up.

“I think that’s my queue to leave.” Woojin mumbled as he got up from the chair.

“Wait, we’re about to go to eat.”

“Find me after you’ve had your talk...” Woojin left the room and with the click of the door, you walked over and locked the door, no one was going to mess up this conversation, and you were asking sure of that.

“What the hell kind of stunt was that, Chan?”

“Whatever do you mean?” He sighed rolling back to his spot in front of the desk.

“Are you really going to let Stays call you ‘daddy’?” He could sense the frustration in your voice without even having to look at you, he knew he hit a nerve and he was not the least bit sorry about it.

“Why does it matter if I do or don’t?” Chan stood from his chair to stretch, playing it off as if you were mad for no reason.

“Being called daddy means you have to be one and I don’t think you could be a daddy even if you tried.” The growled words caused him to move toward you, your body getting trapped between his hands and the wall. The spiciness of his cologne met your nose, turning the anger you harnessed into something else, something more carnal.

“You don’t think I can?” He growled, leaning into you, his hand leaving the wall for a moment to pull the hair that was covering your neck behind your ear. A fire crawled up into your cheeks, the carnal hunger that was growing inside you now spreading through your limbs, the heat between your thighs beginning to pool in the thinness of your underwear. Luscious lips pressed a gentle kiss to the tenderness of your neck, it sparking goosebumps over your skin, your breath got caught in your throat as you gripped the fabric of his black shirt, to feel a smile spread over his lips, “I guess you don't have an answer.” He pulled away from you, a chuckle erupting from his throat, the anger you once felt arising again.

“Seriously, Chan? Fucking own up to it if you're going to do it.” You growled, you hated the way he beat around the bush, it annoyed you to no end. Chan cupped your face, sliding his knee between your thighs—the good boy aura vanishing into an air that was darker, hungrier.

“You want me to punish you? You’ve been back talking a lot lately.” He ground his knee against your panty clad core, eliciting a whine from you.

“Please...” He gripped your hips, rocking them back and forth, making you ride his thighs.

“Don’t stop until I tell you to.” You nodded to his words, focusing on the friction his jeans were creating with yours, the way that the seam dug into the flesh of your pussy that was already aching for him without his fingers even touching you. His lips continued where they left off on your neck, hungry lips staining your skin shades of deep purple and red, marking your body—telling everyone that you were his and no one else’s. The constant digging from the seam your shorts over your throbbing clit was already bring you to your end, the messy rocking of your hips caught Chan’s attention while his lips trailed up your neck to the shell of your ear, “C’mon baby girl, I know you can ride better than that...” He whispered near your ear, the tight knot in your core making it hard to keep a steady pace.

“Chan, I can’t—”

“Is that so? My brat can’t even listen to me?” He pulled his leg from between yours to slip his hand into your shorts, past your panties to bury his fingers in between your slippery lips, “You’re getting wet so easily, Y/N. You all ready for me?” He dipped his fingers into your dripping core, them curling up into your sweet spot roughly, your already trembling legs feeling like they could give out under you at any moment, “You know the rules...” He hummed near your ear, “If you want to feel me, put me in your mouth, baby...” He pulled away with a sly smirk on his lips, your mouth watering to taste him. You dropped down to your knees, focusing on this hand roughly unbuttoning his pants, your excitement throbbing in your core, “If you think you’re gonna get off easy this time, you’re sadly mistaken, baby girl.”

“Is that so?” You kinked an eyebrow as he pulled his pants and boxers down just enough for his hard cock to spring free from the waistband.

“Don’t get cocky, Princess.” He gripped your chin, guiding his cock towards your mouth, “Open.” You opened your mouth, Chan calmly slid the tip onto your tongue, the rough sensation causing him to suck a breath in between his teeth. You knew Chan loved feeling your mouth wrapped around him and teasing him was your favorite thing—you hummed while swirling your tongue around his throbbing tip, his hips bucking at your sudden movement, “It’s not nice to tease.” He buried his hands into your hair, gripping your head as he hastily thrusted his hips into your mouth, sending his cock down your throat. You attempted to pull back from him, but he backed you up against the wall, using it to his advantage to use your mouth in whatever way he pleased; the burn in your lung screamed to breathe, but Chan didn’t look like he was going to be done anytime soon. His dark eyes were focused on his length buried past the plush of your lips, loving watching it grow as he pulled out of your mouth and disappear down your throat. Blistering tears ran down your cheeks, your tears finally pulling him out of his blissful moment to refocus on your face, “Are you ready to behave for daddy?” He gently caressed your cheeks as he pulled his throbbing cock from your lips, he ran his thumb over your reddened lips, smearing your drool mixed with his precum over your plumpness. Your fucked out expression fueled a hunger in him he’d never felt before, “Use your words, baby, otherwise I won’t let you cum.”

“Yes… daddy… I’m going to be a good girl now…” You batted your wet eyelashes up at him, catching a smile appear on his lips.

“Tell me what you want, princess…” His thumb ran over your lips once more, slipping into your mouth for your lips to wrap around it, your tongue searching for even a hint of his taste. Pulling his thumb from your mouth, you hummed, biting your lip a bit.

“I want your cock…” You popped up onto your knees, desperate hands sliding under his shirt to reveal soft forming abs, “I want to feel you…” Swollen lips pressed against his skin, making him groan, “Deep inside me… daddy… please…” You placed more kisses to his stomach, trailing down his defined V line to the base of his cock.

“Then bend over, baby girl.” You stood from your spot on the floor, quickly discarding your shorts and panties to bend over the arm of the couch, your ass high in the air. Chan walked over to the desk to open a drawer, a box of condoms slid to the front of it and he pulled one from the box before closing the drawer; he glanced over at your figure, your legs visibly shaking in anticipation of being able to feel him inside your aching core. He flicked his eyes back to the desk, his eyes catching the screen of the computer, the button to start a v-live flashing; what a perfect way to make this interesting. The subtle clicks of the keyboard held your attention for a moment as the sound of music began to pour from the speakers as well as a quiet ding from your phone.

Hold on… that’s the—

“Sorry Stays, I decided I couldn’t stay away for too long, how about another jam session?” You turned your head towards Chan to see him waving at the camera, every hair stood on end as all of your senses focused on your arousal dripping from your slick folds.

“You’re back? Is this a joke?” Chan read aloud, a stifled chuckle attempted to escape him.

“Hm… I don’t think so, but I have something to finish up so, bare with me for a few minutes.” Chan slipped out of the frame of the camera while ripping the condom open as quietly as possible and rolling it down onto his length; his cold fingers brushed against the bare skin of your ass, making you gasp as he took the spot behind you.

“Chan? What are you doing?” You whispered loud enough for him to hear, his body hovered over yours while he slipped his cock between your dripping wet folds.

“If you don’t want to get caught, you better not make any noise...” He guided his cock to your throbbing hole and thrusted his hips into you, making your body jerk from the pressure of him hitting your cervix. Chan gripped your hips tightly, the sound of his skin meeting yours got lost behind the loud music that came from the speakers, but it sounded so much louder to you; you gripped at the cushions as Chan’s relentless pace attacked your sensitive spots, you were so close to your release, so close that you almost let out grunts and groans that could give you away. Chan could sense you were about to unravel around him, your walls bore down on him hard enough that he could cum at any minute himself, but cumming before you wasn’t something he was going to do, “C’mon, baby girl… Cum for daddy…” He breathed, your core tightening up around him at his words; he leaned down, wrapping his arm around your waist, his hand immediately finding your aching clit. You growled into the pillow on the couch while he rolled your swollen nub between his fingers and teased your sweetest of spots, your high flooding your body as you felt the pulsing of his cock inside you, his own orgasm taking over him, “Fuck…” He hissed, burying his face into your shoulder, his cock pouring every drop he had into the condom; he pressed gentle kisses to your neck while he pulled out, the condom getting stuck inside your core. He watched as his cum dripped out of the latex, it starting to pool up on the floor under you.

“Chan…” You whispered, his voice quick to hush you.

“Relax, baby girl.” He pressed a kiss to your ass before speaking loudly, “Alright guys...” Pulling up his pants he began to return back to the computer; he plopped down into the computer chair, a smile pasted onto his lips, “What should we listen to?”

#stray kids #stray kids drabbles #stray kids imagines #stray kids bang chan #stray kids bang Chan imagines #stray kids bang Chan drabbles #stray kids Christopher bang #stray kids Christopher bang imagines #stray kids Christopher bang drabbles #stray kids Chris bang #stray kids Chris bang drabbles #stray kids Chris bang imagines #bang chan #bang Chan imagines #bang chan drabbles #christopher bang #christopher bang imagines #christopher bang drabbles #chris bang #chris bang imagines #chris bang drabbles #smut #angst #just like candy bang chan

[vanillacup-cakes]

This is, by far, the latest I’ve ever written one of my year round-ups, and by far, the messiest post. 

2019 was a year guys, so have a really messily written year round up. If I try to tidy it up we’ll be here until December. 

TL;DR

2019.

2019 was a year of love; happy, sad, somewhere in between. 

My heart got broken. 

Hera got married. 

My friends are in love. 

At the end of the Barat, in Pakistani wedding traditions, the bride goes home with the groom. Any events before that the bride always came home with her family. But for this main event, after the actual marriage contract has been signed, after all the festivities, she goes home with the groom. We took it in turns to hug Hera goodbye, I pushed myself to the back of the queue being the crier of the group. 

When I was talking to Hera’s cousin she mentioned that some people have questioned why this little bit of the wedding celebrations causes such emotional responses from the bride’s family and friends, after all, we’ll see her again the next evening for the reception. And it’s not like she’s gone forever, she has just moved out of her parents house. She said that the reason for this was not because we will never see her again but because things will never be the same from that moment on. Not in a good, nor a bad way, it just is. 

Changed. 

Life changes and when one of your close friends get married it changes your relationship with them. Not that you or they love you/them less, not that you or they are less important, not that you or they care less. It just changes. 

it doesn’t even have to be marriage. 

In October, one morning in Peak District I was stood in the kitchen of our rented apartment and in front of me were two of my best friends with their other halves going on about their day eating their breakfast. It was a picturesque little scene I tried to capture as a photo, I was scared of ruining the moment though and my sly camera skills were terrible so I just have a blurry evidence of that moment. Throughout that holiday I caught little moments of the two couples, little moments I can’t really describe but you know it when you’re around it, little moments that made my heart swell and hurt at the same time. Because things are different. Things have changed. 

Change isn’t bad, it can be really, really good. In fact I hope it’s a really, really, really good change for all of them, I just need a moment to accept that we’re no longer in our early 20s and our lives are going to change a lot before more.

2019 was a year of love; the good, the bad, and the bittersweet. 

I started 2019 falling asleep as the fireworks went off. We had gone out for dinner earlier that evening with a friend from work and his missus, to a nice fancy restaurant where desserts are always perfect. I’m not one to go out on New Year’s so I worried that we’d be out long but, fortunately for me, the other couple we’re not up for a long one either so, after dinner, we tried to see if we could grab a couple of drinks in a bar before heading home but, as it was NYE, we had no luck. The other couple went home, we tried a couple more before we gave up and called it a night. 

We were falling asleep when the fireworks went off. In our 20s, supposed to be the prime of your life, and I was cuddled up and happily falling asleep before the new year rang in. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. 

January meant Hamilton and birthday boardgames and lots of ballroom classes. I think this may have been the year that we also started, or tried to, regularly schedule in time for face masks. 

Then it was suddenly February and I received the best Valentine’s day card in existence, I continued to dance, finally saw a Footlights performance and even caught a show put on by CUMTS. Cirque du Soleil was okay too… 

March was when Amy, Izzy and I decided to start our own tradition, every year, no matter what, we’d get together; us and the boys, with the dogs, or kids or goodness know what else life gives us, we’d meet up. We’d meet up somewhere in the UK for a long weekend, where we’d go for walks and cook dinner, and just overall relax and unwind and catch up with each other. Each year starting that October at the Peak District. 

March was when I forgot my water bottle at our last dance class and we had to turn the car around. March was when I got no sleep and still chose to go to work the next day. 

For the three months we had worked in the new building together we had never bumped into each other in such close proximity, and then, suddenly, there he was coming out of the showers as I tried to find an empty stall to check how I tired I looked. I smiled, I can’t remember if I said anything but my heart dropped. 

March was when I got my promotion and all I wanted to do was tell him. 

I gave him his stuff back and I gave him his birthday present; an embossed leather notebook, dotted not lined, perfect for both writing and drawing, he was a design engineer after all. 

In July he wished me a happy birthday. 

In my head, people judge how much it hurt me when we were only together for nine months. But no one has the right to dictate how you feel.  

Back in January, Hera started sending me dance videos, videos she wanted us to learn for her wedding.

By April, the Kate, Olive, Sam and I were in the full swing of Friday on a Monday: Dance Edition. We’d cook a spicy meals (the spice increased in level as we went along, yoghurt or cream became more for taste than for firefighting) then we’d dance. Every Monday, where possible. Sometimes we’d skype Charley, sometimes Charley would be with us in person. 

As per usual we celebrated birthdays not in the correct months; Kate’s November was in January in form of birthday boardgames, face masks and hand massages by Olive. Charley’s January was in May in Claydon house where we discussed medieval fayres and the Jane Austen festival, where we sat in a private chapel and spoke as we wished until a lady came into actually pray and we tried our best to exit quietly. Sam gave Olive a piggy back in the gardens and there were some happy screaming and laughter. Olive’s March preceded Charley’s as we went to Bath in May and had ourselves our own very luxurious baths. Preceded and proceeded by enough Sally Lunn buns to feed a small army. 

My mum randomly won tickets to Look East festival so Charley and I went on an impromptu trip to London and saw Mumford and Sons live. Next time we’ll be prepared with a picnic blanket and more sunscreen for Charley. Indeed we were more fully prepared a month later for West End Live, armed with a cool bag full of food and drinks. What we weren’t prepared for, though, was the vast amount of people queueing. We knew it was popular and we knew there would be a long queue but we didn’t quite anticipate just how big. Having said that, after we admitted defeat we found a little section to the side of Trafalgar square with deck chairs facing a huge screen live streaming the whole event. We didn’t get seats straightaway but sure enough a family with kids left slightly earlier. Instead of standing under the sun for hours on end, Charley and I sat on our deck chairs in the shade in a lovely June day eating our food and drinking to our heart’s content. We decided that in 2020, we’d just do the exact same. We also come out wanting to watch ever single musical there was. 

Speaking of getting the right picnic spot, we are starting to have this ‘Singing on the river’ thing down; picnic blankets a plenty, napkins, cutleries, takeaway for dinner by the river listening to the wonderful King’s men perform renditions of old and new songs. It’s a Cambridge tradition we just can’t miss. 

We did try to keep up monthly dinners in 2019; we went to Varsity, The Red Lion and Petersfield before we had to suspend the dinners as it was time to fly to Pakistan.

After the vaccinations were done, after the visas were sorted, after all the clothes were bought, after all the make-up and hair trials were done, after all suitcases were packed, after all the dances were mastered (somewhat), after the incredibly long wait to see Hera again it was time to get in the taxi and slowly but surely make our way to the train station. Slowly because we had a flat tyre. But it was going to be faster to get on a slow car than wait for another taxi. 

For months on end, as a group, we all had a phrase “After Pakistan”. The amount of things we said we’d do ‘after Pakistan’ and suddenly we were there. Suddenly it was all gone. 

I’m not sure life kept going after Pakistan, you know. 

And yet it did. I came back to work with my new manager fully into the swing of things, nothing had exploded and everything was still chugging along. Suddenly I was being invited to more meetings and prospects of going business trips became a thing. 

I also started sewing classes, along with Olive and Sarah. I stopped ballroom classes and continued with krav maga. 

In October, Amy and Tom picked me up in Cambridge and we all drove to Bakewell together to meet Izzy and Zack. The weather could have been nicer to us but it was the UK in October, we should have known better. So off we went, in the rain, walking down an old railroad track (we did consider cycling but that got confusing and expensive), climbing hills for loo breaks and risking ankles and necks for a hope of a nice warm lunch only to be disappointed because pubs in the middle of nowhere is far and few in between and only serve food at specified hours. Having walked for hours with a small amount of sustenance we took the taxi home and enjoyed a meal at the apartment instead. 

In November, we flew to Bulgaria and what an experience it was. Beautiful sceneries and definitely a hidden gem, but take it from me, don’t take the jeep up the mountain. Find a different mountain, there’s plenty. Explore the gorgeous towns preserved to their original glory and feel like you’ve been transported back in time. Try the local cuisine! Dress up in traditional Bulgarian outfits, it’ll make a wonderful family photo. 

That same month, Hera visited England again. For a mere few days she stayed in Cambridge and we tried to make the most of it as possible. Butch Annie’s was obviously a requirement. And at last, once again, Kate’s November birthday was celebrated in November. In a once in a lifetime opportunity where all six of us were finally back together again to tackle not one, not two but three escape rooms! We got out of every single one of them. No biggie! But just like that, we were all split up again. 

But no rest for the wicked because the very next day I was off to Austria on a business trip. My first ever business trip. It wasn’t all work and no play, in fact, at one point we were chucked out of the office so we can explore Vienna further so we did. We went to Christmas market after Christmas market and I stocked up on Christmas baubles and Christmas presents. My favourite bauble though? Came from the Bury St Edmunds Christmas Fayre. I’ll be on the look out for you again next year!

Before long it was December. With all the hubub of 2019 and the hubub that 2020 will bring (in form of a NYE party) I decided it was best if we had someone else cook for us for Friends Christmas. Secret Santas were exchanged and extra sticky toffee puddings were ordered, no dishes were cleaned by our hands that evening, 

And then it was time to party. 1920’s themed party to ring in the 2020’s…

When I really think about it 2019 was one helluva year. So much has changed, so much will change. There isn’t one month similar to the one before, it’s terrifying. Growing up is terrifying. Changes are terrifying. 

But we have to bury broken hearts and raise a glass to falling in love, we have to hug memories goodbye and smile at the new ones. We have to accept things won’t be the same but that’s not a bad thing. There are still songs to dance to and movies to cry at, rooms to escape and snacks to share. They’ll always be there no matter what… no matter what 2020 will bring. 

#personal #end of year #end of year 2019 #yes I have written this as if I don't know what's happening in 2020 already

[crazyfreckledginger]

Donald Pierce x Reader - “Till Death Do Us Part”

Requested by @fanatic-fanfic:  “Oh my goodness! Thank you so much for replying to my post! It’s so hard to find Donald Pierce fanfics on here, so your page was sooo refreshing to see! I had this idea for a fanfic where Donald Pierce is hunting an OFC (Oh yes sorry! It means Original Female Character) white mutant powers, told from her perspective. And then he captures her and day in and day out he questions her and she gets experimented on and what not. (The only twist is that I don’t want them to fall in love because I want it to be that she absolutely hates him). Again thank you so much for your reply, I really appreciate it!"

A/N: There is no romance in this, and I hope you’re okay with the simple edit, I didn’t want to keep it too lively, I wanted to maintain the gloomy atmosphere of the pic. Also, I don’t really write first person point of view anymore but I kept it focused on the reader, hope you like it! ^^

The sound of crunching leaves was the only thing that could be heard in the obscurity. But the girl was sure that her ragged breathing as well as her thumping heart could be heard from miles away.

“Come on, come on, come on,” She mentally repeated, letting her feet guide her away from the trucks. Her irises flickered to an intense white colour, suddenly seeing in the dark perfectly. Everything that used to be black was now different shades of white and grey, she wished she could bend her life in the same way, seeing the light in the darkness. But that wasn’t the case, not after her secret was unfolded. 

Her powers were a gift -- that was what that man said when they first crossed paths. She thought he could understand her, and her hope in herself was nearly restored.

Until he stabbed her in the back, both literally and metaphorically.

She understood that the words he said to her, that he wanted her to go with him to do good for humanity, was only manipulation. He didn’t lie, he simply left out the fact that it was for ‘science’. (Y/N) despised his guts with all her being. She was toyed with, controlled by that monster.

Yet, she blamed herself for letting her guard down, could she ever forgive herself because it was out of desperation? Craving to be approved of and understood when no one else did?

Her breathing hitched as she stopped in front of a tall tree, scanning around to see if any of them had caught up with her before jumping on the trunk, escalating it with ease and shielding herself behind the thick foliage.

“Find her, don’t let her get away!” The familiar voice ordered. Her eyes closed, head tilting to the side slightly as she let her other senses take over.

She could feel the cool breeze pinch her exposed skin, the slightly pungent smell of cigarettes, guns and sweat stung her nostrils as the obnoxious, growing sound of artillery, metal and most of all, crunching leaves from the countless footsteps. 

The familiar smell of the authoritative figure made her heart drum in her ears as she stopped breathing completely.

He was standing right below her. 

Once fall move and everyone would know where she was. 

It felt like an eternity before they were out of range. She dropped down, skillfully landing on her feet with the faintest of sounds before racing through the forest, neither in their direction nor away from them. They could be anywhere and she had to be cautious. 

(Y/N) couldn’t risk anything, especially since she nearly got caught a while ago.

“What was that?” a voice asked. Her breathing hitched once again as she stopped her footing and nearly tripped to stop cease in her tracks.

“Fucking finally!” Another chuckled, she felt a hand clasp around her throat from behind as a mask was forced onto her face. Her (E/C) eyes widened, immediately ending her breathing to not give into whatever gas was being released from the mask. 

The voice cursed, before a buff figure released a blow at her stomach. She groaned loudly, breathing in sharply from the pain until she felt her throat and eyes burning. Slowly, her body fell limp against the person’s frame, eyes closing and vision blurring, until she completely collapsed and succumbed into darkness.

*****

A strangled breath escaped her lips as she shuffled lightly. The cold heat bit into her skin as the intense neon glared down at her. Her eyelids slowly opened, blinking repeatedly due to the merciless brightness. 

She frowned, fully understanding her surroundings.

Where am I?

Her heart rate increased as if on queue.

Where was she? She was locked in, how? The girl had no recollection of past event.

The door opened suddenly. (Y/N) jumped out of her skin, how did she not see that coming?

“Well, well, you’re awake!” The familiar figure chuckles. She didn’t dare answer, “now, normally we would have a welcoming party for you, but because of all the...trouble you caused me and my men, we’ll have to skip all of that and get down to business.” He smirked.

“Who are you? And what do you want with me?” She mumbled, even though her voice was soft, the hardened expression on her face made her attitude to the situation distasteful and venomous.

“Donald Pierce, at your service,” He chuckled sarcastically, bowing mockingly. The girl gritted her teeth.

“Tch, asshole,” She grumbled under her breath.

“I don’t think you should have that kinda attitude around me doll, you don’t wanna mess with me,” His eyes glazed over, the used-to-be-pure-amusement was now disgust and suspicion, “so, for your own sake, keep that little mouth of yours shut,” The words dripped with venom, she gulped nervously, not knowing what to do.

“That’s more like it,” He smirked softly before turning on his heels and exiting the room.

“Why was I on the floor and not the bed?” She abruptly asked. Pierce stopped in his tracks, turning his head slightly to have her in his peripheral vision.

“Where would be the fun of putting you somewhere a little more comfortable?”

She growled softly, looking away from him.

“Have a nice stay,” He hummed, shutting the heavy metal door behind him.

****

“Come, hurry, my patience is running thin,” He snapped, pulling her arm roughly. She only whimpered in response, letting her feet being dragged behind her.

“S-stop, p-please,” Her head swayed side to side because of the dizziness.

“Just because you’re still under anaesthetic from the experiment, doesn’t mean I’m going to carry you every time, now hussle!” He replied disgruntledly, pushing her to her room as he nodded to the guard. The man obliged, unlocking the steel door and opening it.

Donald Pierce grunted as he pushed her inside, her legs giving in. She collapsed to the floor.

“You better recover before tomorrow, we don’t need more weak people in this place,” He still held the same look of disgust on his face since the first day. She gulped, yet again under his hard gaze as he slid out of her cell, his presence disappearing as the door locked shut. 

Silent gasps escaped her lips as she hugged her knees against her chest. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she trembled softly.

Four months, four months she had been in this hell and the tests on her by the cruel scientists only got worse as the days went by. Why were they doing this?

She couldn’t believe people would be so cruel, especially on people who were much much younger than her. A shiver taunted her, running up and down her bruised spin.

“P-please,” She could only pray now, everything else she had put her faith in had vanished over the course of her stay here. (Y/N) had become so heartbroken, she never knew she could hate a place this much -- let alone Donald, her entire being hated every single inch of them. He was a monster, a complete heartless masochist who fed off of other people’s misery.

She could only hope someone, anyone would help her escape, because she was one hundred percent sure no one would try and bring this firm to justice.  

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[punkscowardschampions]

Janis & Jimmy

Janis: where are you? Janis: put my coat away and everything Jimmy: weren't allowed in Jimmy: face don't fit Jimmy: 💔🎻💔 Janis: serious Janis: thought you said you could get in clubs Janis: hang on then, I'll queue up again 😑 Jimmy: it ain't my fault the door bloke's a dickhead Jimmy: fancies his chances better without me in the way Jimmy: might as well go for it now Jimmy: catch you in a bit 👍 Janis: sure, he's got it in for you, boy 😏 Janis: whatever Jimmy: he wants to put it in you Jimmy: understandable when he's going off how well you scrub up Jimmy: keep it off the snap & it is whatever, girl Janis: gross Janis: he's easily 42 Jimmy: don't knock it til you've tried it Jimmy: we ain't in the north so that ain't death's door Jimmy: & you ain't got me there to buy your drinks now, play it smart, rich girl Jimmy: that's how you stay rich, yeah Janis: well I actually got in so I can check out the talent beyond the door 👍 Janis: but tah for the tips Janis: what are you gonna do then Jimmy: big town full of Leprechauns Jimmy: maybe I'll find the pot of gold, gay clubs are the rainbow I assume Jimmy: start there Jimmy: find my own 👴💕 Janis: 🍀 Janis: funny now but when I end up dead in the river you'll be suspect no.1 Jimmy: like anyone's gonna believe I could take you out Jimmy: too 💪 you Jimmy: worry more about everyone chatting that you turned me 🌈 honestly Janis: ha Janis: like you said, keep it off the snap Janis: anyone sees you in there they'll have to out themselves first so Jimmy: 👌 Janis: laters bae Jimmy: 😘 Janis: [finds him, the kiss, walking away] Jimmy: [follows her out leaving this girl like ??!! as she also follows for the awks] Jimmy: [says 'keeping it short & sweet all across town tonight then?' because now is not the time for bants so obvs he's banting] Janis: [is just looking at the girl like bitch what are you doing and ain't gonna talk to him whilst she's there] Jimmy: [lights a 🚬 for an excuse to be still standing there when he's being blanked, sharing with the random girl just to make it worse, introduces Janis to her by one of her fake names cos actual dickhead] Janis: [completely blanks the girl like it would be obvious you were not welcome; 'how do you know no one saw you?'] Jimmy: [the girl be like UM I'm going back in, are you coming boy & he shrugs like in a bit cos still smoking obvs to prolong this & let's her go before he answers cos not trying to explain fake dating to this random] Jimmy: ['you've been in, it's well dead 'cause of being well shit'] Janis: ['so you don't then, in other words. great.'] Jimmy: ['nobody saw me. Calm down.'] Janis: ['fuck off. if you can't do this properly then why suggest it?'] Jimmy: ['I am doing it properly, I told you, it's alright'] Janis: ['for you maybe but that ain't the only part of the deal so sort it out. fucking amatuer'] Jimmy: ['piss off am I. It is sorted. She ain't from around here & nobody who matters saw us.' Janis: [shakes head 'yeah, you are. fuck sake, how old are you, 12?'] Jimmy: [is clearly fuming but trying to act not bothered. 'You'll be the one who fucks this if you don't trust what I'm telling you, girl'] Janis: ['nah, get why they didn't let you in now; what is this, under 18s night? check how old she was, did you?'] Jimmy: [just gives her a fuck you kind of look but that's a mistake cos she's really hot so has to look away] Jimmy: you got in, what did you follow me to this shithole for? Janis: [is laughing at him but it's obvs fake, then shrugs like, why not?] Jimmy: nah go on, you're such a #pro Jimmy: reasons for everything you do, all part of the plan all the time with you Jimmy: so what Janis: well no shit Janis: I didn't want to come out but it's on socials now so we need at least one decent picture together so they know it's #real Jimmy: come on then Jimmy: [poses in a really fake piss taking way] Janis: are you this shit or what Janis: I said, do it properly or I ain't bothering Jimmy: [does that sexy blowing smoke thing at her so it's basically a kiss like that gif I have of Nico doing it in MMFD & snaps a pic of it] Janis: [nods like that'll work 'cos what's she gonna say] Jimmy: 👍 Jimmy: [then actually kisses her & again taking pics being all like don't say I don't do shit properly but like we both know he just wants to & its a moment] Janis: [pushes him back 'cos can't deal] Janis: that'll do Janis: keep it softcore, no one needs that much convincing Jimmy: 👌 Jimmy: in a bit then Janis: you're seriously going back in there Jimmy: [does the why not shrug she gave him earlier like its so obvious that you want her to tell you not to, boy please] Janis: [scoffs and shrugs back] Janis: have fun Jimmy: try not to fall or get pushed in the river, Joanne Jimmy: it'd be a crying shame that Janis: no one's pushing me away Janis: trust Jimmy: not in that outfit Jimmy: or out of it Jimmy: I get it Jimmy: you've done your snap bragging now, shut up Janis: can't make me Jimmy: 💪🏆 you Jimmy: get that too Janis: good Janis: don't get it twisted Jimmy: 👑 of the #flex Jimmy: nowt twisted here Janis: flexing makes it sound like it ain't true Jimmy: [sends her the pics so she can post them cos ultimate shade for rn that he won't] Jimmy: none of this is Jimmy: what did you say, don't get it twisted, Janet Jimmy: have fun with your #s Jimmy: [goes back inside] Janis: piss off Janis: I can get into places that ain't this dump, remember? Jimmy: you ain't let me forget Jimmy: enjoy being a hot girl then Jimmy: 👍 Janis: 🤞 you can find one yourself Jimmy: tah Janis: so welcome Jimmy: 💕 Janis: 🖕 Jimmy: lovely you Jimmy: [leaves again because it actually is shit in there & obvs not feeling it] Janis: don't take it personal Jimmy: weren't & won't Janis: how unlike you Jimmy: you reckon you know what I'm like Janis: I reckon you love thinking you're special Jimmy: if I loved that we wouldn't be doing this Jimmy: I'd just let 'em all fawn over me like its their job while I do mine Janis: better in theory and bullshit than in practice Janis: 🤷 Jimmy: say the same for this fake girlfriend bollocks Janis: 💔 for you Janis: naturally Jimmy: 🎻🎻 Jimmy: I'll live Janis: shame Jimmy: 💔 for you then Janis: yeah, should be Janis: inconsiderate Jimmy: reckon you've got that covered, my dear Jimmy: but I'll do my best Janis: excuse me? Jimmy: you heard Jimmy: & I bet you understood, smart girl Janis: are you drunk? Jimmy: you calling me a lightweight Jimmy: I weren't in there that long Janis: long enough Janis: 👍 Jimmy: for you maybe Janis: soz you didn't get stinky fingers? Janis: 🎻 Jimmy: yeah you looked proper sorry about it Janis: was I meant to be? Jimmy: don't bother saying it now then Janis: 🙄 Janis: did you a favour anyway Jimmy: 🙄 Janis: please Janis: even you could do better Janis: not doing this so you can throw all my good work away already Jimmy: than a girl who's not from around here, ain't gonna say shit & I don't need to see again Jimmy: not really Jimmy: but go on Janis: whatever, if that's your type Janis: then you may as well make your choice of the basics now and be done with it Jimmy: I don't have a type Jimmy: she did the job for tonight Jimmy: or would've until you turned up Jimmy: if you've got someone better in mind, I'm heading home, send 'em over Janis: lovely you Jimmy: I know Jimmy: tah though Janis: no, thank you for proving my point Jimmy: so welcome Janis: gone, was she Jimmy: or 💀 from the 🔪🔪🔪s you were throwing Jimmy: could've easily bled out while you were having your strop Janis: just playing the part Janis: like you were meant to Janis: or you want your fake gf to be that cool girl Janis: 🙄 figures Jimmy: I only clock in when there's actually an audience, babe Jimmy: like you're meant to Jimmy: & as I told you, there weren't Janis: sure Janis: you did a whole sweep of the club to doublecheck Janis: idiot Jimmy: yeah Jimmy: it ain't big or packed Jimmy: & anyway if you were playing a role you'd have kicked off in front of the everyone you're so sure was about Jimmy: not outside to me Janis: not my style Janis: but you did your part by following me out like a puppy so we're fine Jimmy: 'cause I ain't no amateur Jimmy: weren't gonna let you fuck it up by fucking off without a word Jimmy: thought you paddy's loved a bar fight Jimmy: actually 💔💔 Janis: and I know boys love bitch fights, don't mean you're gonna get one from me Jimmy: gutted me Jimmy: of all the fake girlfriends I could've had Jimmy: lumbered with a dud like Julie over here Janis: find another one then Janis: save me the hassle Jimmy: bit late for that Jimmy: deal's done Jimmy: posts are posted Janis: people break up Janis: ain't even that deep Jimmy: 1 day in? Jimmy: that's the rep you want Jimmy: alright then Janis: why ain't it your rep Jimmy: I'm the lad I'm always gonna come off better Jimmy: either I dumped you this fast 'cause you wouldn't fuck me or 'cause you did Jimmy: It don't matter to me Jimmy: & It don't look bad for me whichever way Janis: that's bullshit Janis: when's the soonest I can get out of this then Jimmy: yeah but it's the way it'll look Jimmy: I don't know Jimmy: not had to stage a fake break up before Janis: fuck sake Jimmy: 🎻🎻🎻 Janis: fuck off with that Janis: all you've done this whole time is whine you didn't get laid Janis: like I stopped you Jimmy: I ain't said shit about it even though you did stop me Jimmy: you're the one with so much chat on the subject Janis: bullshit, you're moaning on and on like I'm gonna feel sorry for you Janis: you could've gone back in, she clearly didn't care you've got a fake girlfriend Jimmy: bollocks Jimmy: & you clearly scared her off Jimmy: she didn't know about you, I don't lead with that chat up line Janis: yeah she's that fucking stupid Janis: just 'cos you're oblivious don't reckon everyone else is Jimmy: oblivious to what Jimmy: you weren't there & I didn't give her anything real Jimmy: she can't stalk my socials to check my fake relationship status without my name Janis: when I showed up Janis: to me, playing my part Janis: if you reckon she didn't clock that then you're literally braindead Jimmy: like I said, you scared her off Jimmy: & stopped me Jimmy: why am I repeating myself, are you the drunk one now Janis: bullshit Janis: don't use me as an excuse for whyever you pussied out Jimmy: piss off Jimmy: I went back in, I don't need excuses it's literally what happened Jimmy: you fucked it up for me Jimmy: I'm good but nobody's that good Janis: 👌 Janis: whatever makes you feel better about your fuck up Jimmy: whatever makes you feel better about putting on a show for nobody but me & her Janis: you wish Jimmy: if this is your coming out, sure you could track her down & crack on, you did me easy enough Janis: hilarious Janis: even if I was gay, I'd have standards Jimmy: I've got standards but I've also got a nightmare of a fake girlfriend so Jimmy: well paranoid about getting rumbled she is Janis: 1. clearly not Janis: 2. well yeah, 'cos I ain't doing this for my fucking health Janis: like you said, you're gonna fuck up my rep when you've promised the opposite Jimmy: 1. I've already told you, needs must Jimmy: 2. fuck knows why you're doing it when you're so up yourself & convinced you can get anyone else you want Jimmy: like I said & yeah, promised, a deal's a deal Jimmy: I ain't gonna do nowt of the sort Jimmy: just calm down Janis: yeah, this is 100% about getting boys to wanna ride me Janis: boys are easy, no one needs to try to impress yous Janis: and don't tell me to calm down, seriously Janis: 'less you wanna see the opposite Jimmy: I don't give a shit what it's about for you Jimmy: you agreed to do this that's all that matters to me Jimmy: but I knew that's how you 🍀 welcomed the tourists Jimmy: better late than never Janis: stop chatting like you know then, twat Jimmy: only a rule for you that? Jimmy: you've been chatting like you know me this whole night Jimmy: leave it out or show up to my door for the brawl you want & tick off another nightmare girlfriend cliche before tomorrow Janis: you reckon you can propose it and come off all mysterious Janis: nah 😂 Janis: don't worry, sure everyone else is still wondering, new boy Jimmy: 👍 Janis: we're probably good now for a few days anyway yeah Janis: so enjoy Jimmy: will do Jimmy: have a good one Jimmy: 💕 Janis: say you too but you're going home? Jimmy: like I said, I'll live Jimmy: got work tomorrow anyway Janis: best to face them not-hungover I guess Jimmy: we can say that's the reason Janis: oh my GOD Janis: give it up Jimmy: already have Jimmy: that's why I'm on my way home Janis: I mean, sadsack, I ain't apologizing Jimmy: 💔💔💔 Janis: so much effort, you Jimmy: you too, babe Jimmy: must be #fated Janis: eurgh Janis: shut up 😂 Jimmy: alright Jimmy: night then Janis: now he listens Jimmy: not on the 🕒 girl, soz Jimmy: soon enough Janis: you hear me asking for a latte Jimmy: I mean your fake boyfriend one Jimmy: & you'd never ask for a latte, piss off Jimmy: I don't have to know you to know that Janis: MY 🕒? Janis: YOUR fake girlfriend one, own it at least Janis: alright, you can 'know' that much Janis: 'cos I'd have to throw it in your face before I drank it so Jimmy: iced it is then Jimmy: burn scars ain't the sexy sort Janis: rude but true Janis: not giving them the satisfaction of a wet t-shirt moment 🤢 Jimmy: shame Janis: like romcoms too do you Janis: seriously, give in to your pride and date fucking Janis: samantha, whatever her name is Jimmy: I watched some before I suggested this 'cause I take this shit seriously, alright, shut up Janis: 😂 Janis: that bodes well Janis: did you not make the end of any, boy Jimmy: fuck that Jimmy: I was skimming Jimmy: you ain't paying me nowt for this Janis: well I've been forced through enough to know that it never works because the people are idiots Janis: so try not to be one, eh Janis: just this once Jimmy: same to you, girl Jimmy: I get it, I'm really 💪😎 & the accent's 🔥 but don't get carried away, yeah Janis: 🙄 Janis: we're safe Janis: don't worry Jimmy: not if you keep dressing like that Jimmy: sort it out, Jasmine Jimmy: uglier the better 👌 Janis: dickhead Janis: what you want an ugly fake gf for Jimmy: be more #goals Jimmy: #Iloveheranyway Jimmy: #itaintjustskindeepladies Janis: 😒 Janis: well thanks for the insult but too bad 'cos I ain't ever Jimmy: It was literally the opposite of an insult, dickhead Jimmy: I'm saying I'm still a lad alright Jimmy: & when you look like that it's just Janis: it obviously ain't if until now you reckoned I was #ugenough to get the job done so 🖕 Janis: don't take the piss Jimmy: that ain't what I reckoned or what I said Janis: mhmm Janis: ⛏ Jimmy: you're such a knob Jimmy: what kind of fake girlfriend can't take a compliment Janis: what kind of fake boyfriend can't give one Janis: that's the real question, babe Jimmy: I literally just told you how hot you looked, babe Jimmy: try & stay with me here Janis: go on then Janis: what's the punchline Jimmy: shut up Jimmy: the joke is that I'm back home this early Jimmy: my dad's still up Jimmy: & he ain't the type to wait Janis: that's tragic Janis: poor baby Janis: could be worse, he could still be out Janis: then you'd be a real loser Jimmy: I see that & raise you he's got his girlfriend here Jimmy: might genuinely throw up in the kitchen sink Janis: oh dear Janis: least he might think you're at least drunk, sadsack Jimmy: might get drunk now to deal Jimmy: one sec Janis: honestly Janis: shoulda stayed at the nappy night Janis: weren't that bad Jimmy: if I'd known I was coming home to Michael Bublé & two sets of red wine teeth Jimmy: if you still want that fight come & 💀💀 me Janis: You'll get no mercy from me Janis: even if that's the worst thing I've ever heard Jimmy: come on Jimmy: if that's not truce worthy nowt is Jimmy: end my life & be a hot widow what could be more #goals Janis: 😂 Janis: there's no way I like you that much after a day, even faking it Janis: and no chance we've cashed in any sort of life insurance so Jimmy: actually if I 💀 myself you'll get A's in your exams Jimmy: hang on Jimmy: just leaving you a 💕 note Janis: that's definitely a myth Janis: whole school of scabs turning up at cambo like eyy someone topped themselves so now I'm a professor of theology Janis: I think not Jimmy: bit rude Jimmy: & you could've said before I blew my brains out all over my dad & the love of his week but Janis: 🤷 Janis: maybe if you hadn't left it 'til the 💕💀 note to be nice to me Jimmy: when that girl finds out she's gonna think it's because she's a shit kisser Jimmy: that's awkward Jimmy: might have to go haunt her for a bit Jimmy: make sure she knows Jimmy: play some Bublé tunes Janis: again Janis: saving it for the afterlife to be considerate Janis: dickhead Jimmy: 🎻🎻🎻 Jimmy: tell 'em none of his songs at my funeral & I won't haunt you too hard Janis: come on, sure he's murdered my way Janis: just your speed Janis: basic white boy Jimmy: It ain't my fault my parents are both too northern to branch out Janis: save it for when your Swayze'ing that bitch Janis: sure she thinks you're dead exotic Jimmy: 👍 idea Jimmy: tah babe Janis: whatever Janis: we've established you've only got 👎 ones so Jimmy: piss off Jimmy: this fake dating one is working out top Jimmy: deny it Jimmy: I saw how everyone reacted to the posts I gave you Janis: you can take a picture Jimmy: & pose for one Jimmy: this basic white boy is working for you Janis: my ancestors will be thrilled Janis: #reparationsbitch Jimmy: mine too, I bet Janis: I mean, anything beats dying down a mine, I suppose Janis: probs racists though, even if the blackface weren't intentional Jimmy: I'd take it over my present right now Jimmy: pretty sure my dad's a racist still, even if he also likes Seal Janis: lovely Janis: remind me to not come over for tea Jimmy: invite's in the post, my love Janis: 👍 Janis: give us all the chance to 'lose' it Jimmy: 'course Jimmy: but I'm giving you the chance to lose it when you come over too so Jimmy: love a fight you Jimmy: & my dad's got a very smackable face Jimmy: & personality Janis: begin to sound more and more like you've got a fetish Jimmy: shit's kicking off right now & I haven't asked you to tag team Jimmy: got me all wrong Janis: bummer Janis: he pick a minger too? Janis: should've left her at the club like you did Jimmy: he'd have to leave her in the office & that don't work for long Jimmy: perils of 😍 over the water cooler Janis: eurgh Janis: is your whole fam just one big cliche or Jimmy: piss off Janis: just saying Janis: that's two no-nos ticked off Jimmy: well don't say it Jimmy: I'm living it, that's enough Janis: alright Jimmy: alright Jimmy: don't fuck anyone I wouldn't Jimmy: saves us comparing notes Janis: the basic white girls and you are safe Janis: I'll never find out how disappointing you are 💕 Jimmy: You've misunderstood this entire thing, you're my fake girlfriend 'cause I don't wanna fuck basic white girls Jimmy: but 👌 Janis: I thought so too but you must be the confused one Janis: strobe lights were not going that hard Jimmy: she weren't top of my list Jimmy: I told you, needs must Janis: keep protesting, it's so convincing Janis: least it's just me who caught you out 😂 could've been worse Jimmy: alright shut up Jimmy: you've never had a shit night, have you Janis: obviously not Janis: have you seen me Jimmy: you ain't getting no more compliments I'm still holding onto the last one since you wouldn't take it Janis: 1. it was not a compliment Janis: 2. not like I need it Jimmy: 1. yeah it was Jimmy: 2. nah you just want it Janis: 1. no Janis: 2. and no Jimmy: Obviously you're fit that's why I asked you so leave it out Jimmy: 🙄 Janis: p sure you told me to leave it 'cos you were losing but Jimmy: need more chatting up than a real girlfriend you Janis: that's just a tragic insight into your dating history I didn't need, really Jimmy: you wish, baby Janis: ew cease and desist Janis: we definitely no'd that one Jimmy: 😂 Janis: so annoying Jimmy: I told you, #fated Janis: you call it #fated, I call it #doomed Jimmy: it's all still bollocks Jimmy: no # needed Jimmy: 💕 Janis: so poetic Jimmy: wait til you read the 💀 note Janis: I look forward to it Janis: how long 'fore I can move on with the actual hot barista though Jimmy: a day for a day Jimmy: only fair Jimmy: I get it, you couldn't score him first time round so get him with the sympathy Jimmy: well played Janis: you gave me no time Janis: not like it's my usual haunt Jimmy: it's still your home town Jimmy: get a better excuse Janis: I don't make it my business to know everyone else's Jimmy: if he's that hot no need for him to be just a rebound off my demise Jimmy: sort yourself out, girl Janis: sort yourself out for doubting his hotness Jimmy: I ain't Jimmy: I'm doubting your ability to close that deal Janis: fuck you Janis: never had an off day, remember Jimmy: only got your word for that Jimmy: & what's that worth with how much shit you chat Janis: whatever Janis: you already said you think I'm hot Janis: can't change your mind now Jimmy: you are Jimmy: don't mean that basic white lad wants you Janis: why wouldn't he Jimmy: I'll let you know when I've chatted to him on shift tomorrow Jimmy: maybe he likes his missus' more humble for a start Janis: no you won't Janis: and humble is just code for no self-esteem which you only want to cover up your own failings Jimmy: yeah I will Jimmy: & yeah maybe he's into that Jimmy: loads of lads are Janis: um he's #special and #different Janis: so don't ruin it for me with your chatter Jimmy: you're blinded by your 😍 Jimmy: & you ruined tonight for me so why shouldn't I Jimmy: makes us even Janis: no it don't Janis: she weren't no barista boy, get real Jimmy: don't matter to me Jimmy: nowt in the rules about keeping things fair Jimmy: we didn't even come up with any so Janis: even=fair so you don't get to get even by that logic, fool Janis: and pretty self-explanatory, just real relationship rules but make them fake Jimmy: even as I call it, fair as I call it Janis: fuck that Janis: you don't get to call everything Jimmy: watch me Janis: nah, you need me Janis: remember Janis: that's why it's a deal Jimmy: maybe I don't need you as much as I reckoned Jimmy: the basic white girl tonight weren't that bad Janis: like I said, call it off then Janis: in what world do I need to do what you tell me Jimmy: in the same world where you think I would do anything you tell me Jimmy: so the one we're in Janis: I ain't told you to do shit Jimmy: you are now Jimmy: call it off yourself, don't try & make me do it for you Janis: I'm saying don't act like you've got something over me Janis: at least something that I don't also have over you Janis: it ain't that deep, God Jimmy: deep enough for you to keep saying it ain't Jimmy: so convincing, babe Janis: 😑 Janis: you're the most annoying person I've had the misfortune of meeting Jimmy: nah 🥇 you Janis: well I love myself Janis: so obviously not Jimmy: let's ask about Jimmy: I reckon you'll win easy Janis: only if we were asking only the girls Janis: and you're new, you're basically anything they want you to be 'til your personality ruins it Jimmy: you're so popular with the lads, alright I heard you the first 100 times you said it Jimmy: get one of them to fake date you Janis: nah, this is the first sincere offer of fake dating I've ever Janis: so you can still feel special Jimmy: 😍😍😍 Jimmy: I can go to bed feeling like this is better than anything I could dream Jimmy: tah so much Janis: welcome Janis: do what I can Jimmy: yeah Jimmy: so far it's piss me off but let's see what tomorrow brings Janis: ain't on the ⏲ Janis: you didn't do all the convincing yourself though Jimmy: you ain't the one who needs to be convinced of owt Jimmy: thank fuck Jimmy: easy targets Janis: ain't saying I am Janis: saying give me the credit I'm owed and you'll get yours Jimmy: bollocks Janis: ? Jimmy: you were ready to slag me off earlier & loving it when you could give me credit for getting off with someone who ain't gonna ruin this Janis: it ain't the who it's the where, twat Janis: it ain't your hometown, you ain't got a clue who was or wasn't there, lbr Janis: give a fuck if you took her home but you can't be doing it in public 'til this is done Janis: simple as Jimmy: fuck's sake Jimmy: trust me Janis: why? Janis: I don't know you, you don't know me Jimmy: we're in this together or we're fucking not Jimmy: if I weren't as bothered as you I wouldn't be wasting my time Janis: fine Janis: don't be stupid about it then Jimmy: I weren't & I won't Janis: then there's no problem here Jimmy: 👍 Janis: night then Jimmy: 💕 Janis: remember to ❤ the pics Jimmy: already did Jimmy: try & keep up with me, girl Janis: 👌 Janis: keen as always, boy Jimmy: serious Jimmy: remember that next time Janis: yeah, I was the one taking it not serious Janis: 👍 Jimmy: just do better tomorrow Janis: are you actually taking the piss Jimmy: maybe Jimmy: one for the road, like Janis: mm Janis: as I said Janis: most annoying Jimmy: as I said, SUCH a good match Janis: just convince them and we're both free Jimmy: already did that too Jimmy: so say the word Jimmy: any time or place Janis: and you already said if we leave it at a fuck, I look bad so Janis: sorry, not yet Jimmy: I'm just saying Jimmy: whenever Janis: alright, I know Janis: not like it's a legally binding contract Jimmy: so I shouldn't have opened a vein to sign something in my blood Jimmy: now she tells me Jimmy: always too late you Janis: 😏 Janis: earlier it was brains, now it's veins Janis: should I call the samaritans Janis: starting to sound like a cry for help, idk 🤔 Jimmy: you heard me say what's happening in my house tonight Jimmy: it is & you should Janis: 😂 Jimmy: glad you find MB on a loop such a laugh Janis: as long as it's drowning out worse Janis: be thankful Jimmy: do you actually want me to 💀💀💀 Janis: awh babe, no Janis: I don't care whether you live or die either way Jimmy: 💕 Janis: that's the type of service you get for free, kid Jimmy: 👍 Janis: [ze next morning] Janis: I've got to come in later Jimmy: really need to throw that latte on me? Janis: ha, obviously Janis: tell me when my sister and that get there, yeah Janis: remember what they look like Jimmy: it was only a handful of kisses, you gotta get over your jealousy about last night, Jill Jimmy: & yeah Jimmy: my best customers that's the type of service you get here at the CG Janis: strangely enough, not about you or my fake jealousy Janis: just lay off the charm offensive for five when I get there, that's all I need you to do Jimmy: alright Janis: 👍 Janis: see you then Jimmy: in a bit Janis: it'll be easy, no drama Jimmy: no fake break up then Jimmy: 👌 Janis: sorry to disappoint Jimmy: yeah I'm well 💔💔💔 Janis: make it up to you Janis: you'll get tons more #lad points Jimmy: clearly my top priority tah Jimmy: what's going on? Janis: I know you're just as 😍 for him Janis: nah, nothing, my sister's just being more of a bitch than usual Jimmy: you can't know I've been so careful with my 💘 & 😍 around him so there Jimmy: & what you wanna shut her up Janis: oh babes 🙊 Janis: yep Janis: need to, actually, but that's the gist Jimmy: don't she believe we're madly in love? Jimmy: bit rude Janis: appaz, you have no control over your 😍 at all 'cos she #knows you're into her so Janis: 👌 tah Jimmy: 1. she can piss off 'cause I've never Jimmy: 2. I know exactly what to do Janis: yeah, she's full of shit Janis: well so do I but open to ideas Jimmy: you get to do what you want, she's your sister & they weren't my 😍 Janis: 👍 stick to the plan then Janis: she's an idiot, you have to be blatant or she won't get it Jimmy: you gonna tell me the plan or nah Jimmy: & I get paid not to be blatant, gutted as I am about it Janis: you won't get in trouble Janis: not gonna go that hard Jimmy: not what I asked Janis: like you're as dumb as her? Janis: just gotta come be really #goals in their faces Janis: 5 minutes, tops Janis: easy Jimmy: double it if you wanna be #convincing Jimmy: never given a girl so little time in my life Janis: #swoon 😏 Janis: like I said, not gonna go that hard 'cos it has to be in front of them Janis: that's the whole point Janis: just look like you're having fun, yeah? Jimmy: you have to go hard in front of them, that's the whole point Jimmy: not as dumb as her tah Janis: 10 minutes is a bit much for making out Janis: could get it done in that time Jimmy: who have you been making out with? Jimmy: actually gutted for you Jimmy: can't even add the piss taking emojis right now Janis: shut up Janis: I'm not gonna suck face with you for 10 minutes Jimmy: if you can't hack it, call it off now Janis: 😑 Janis: just tell me when they're there Jimmy: said I would Janis: saving the enthusiasm, I get it Jimmy: that & drying my eyes over your real dating history Janis: what are you chatting now Jimmy: nowt Jimmy: just making ☕ Jimmy: you're the one giving away your shit kissing secrets Janis: piss off Janis: there's nothing wrong with my kissing Janis: it's just the boring bit, everyone knows that Janis: may as well skip it Jimmy: if you're doing it wrong, yeah Janis: you aren't an expert Janis: people like different shit, alright Jimmy: calm down Jimmy: you ain't meant to be coming in swinging Janis: stop being a dick then Janis: it's off-putting Jimmy: if you're that easy to put off this fake relationship is properly doomed Janis: I told you Jimmy: get it together or don't come Janis: I'm fine Janis: you're the one chatting shit Janis: you've got one job Jimmy: two Jimmy: get it right, rich girl Janis: yeah, so drop the relationship therapist bit Janis: no one's buying Jimmy: I get it, you're rich 'cause you're tight with every penny Janis: You're just full of shit, and I get that for free Janis: 🍀 me Jimmy: you wish I were Jimmy: but we ain't making 'em come true until the girls get here so Janis: why would I want that Jimmy: my therapist bit's been dropped Jimmy: at your request Janis: we'll talk about this comedian bit later Janis: I've got things to do Jimmy: 👍 Jimmy: me too Janis: things that require more than one braincell but Janis: happy for you Jimmy: soz I'm not performing brain surgery right now Jimmy: well patronizing you Janis: whatever Janis: unlikely to catch my sister or obs so suits my purpose Janis: on* Jimmy: happy for you Janis: suits yours too Janis: or were you looking for someone to be really into you slobbering all over them Janis: shoulda been clearer Jimmy: there's nowt about kissing you for exactly 5 minutes mid shift at my job which suits me Jimmy: but go on Janis: I said 5, tops Janis: get it done in less if you're gonna be so moody Janis: yes or no, can I come in or what Jimmy: do what you want it's your masterplan Janis: well not if you're actually gonna get in trouble Jimmy: like you give a shit about my job security Jimmy: plenty of places to make a latte in this town Janis: I ain't that much of a bitch Jimmy: who knows maybe you'll do me a favor & force me into a job that requires two braincells next Janis: shut up Janis: it was a joke Janis: and you started it Jimmy: really funny you Janis: backatcha Jimmy: 💕 Janis: forget about it Jimmy: alright Janis: nothing lost, yeah Jimmy: nowt gained either but Jimmy: whatever Janis: well despite what you reckon, my secondary goal wasn't to get you sacked so Janis: sorta outweighs the need to get back at them Jimmy: you couldn't get me sacked if you tried Jimmy: you've got one foot out the door before you're even in Janis: you want me hanging about all day Jimmy: not what I said or meant Jimmy: I've had more of a connection with a customer whose order got fucked up than what you're planning to give me Jimmy: who the fuck is that meant to convince Jimmy: but I'm the one not doing this properly Janis: maybe we should fake hang out some more after this Janis: alright Janis: but all you've gotta convince 'em rn is that you wanna fuck me Janis: that's all they care about Jimmy: then I'll let you know when they show up Jimmy: like I said Janis: yeah? Janis: alright Janis: thanks Jimmy: nowt to thank me for Jimmy: blue balls is easy to fake when my dad's getting fucked more often than me Janis: 🎻 then Jimmy: 💔 but I got all those MB jams from last night in my head to mend it Janis: come through for you after-all Jimmy: he'll come to me forever now with those words of wisdom Jimmy: I'll never be free Jimmy: mind numbing job combined with mind numbing family life Jimmy: so few braincells Janis: what was it you said at the start of this convo Janis: need to let it go Jimmy: I can say what I like Jimmy: who are you Jimmy: let go of your fake being bothered Janis: fine Janis: have fun chatting shit to your customers then Jimmy: I survive on tips so I very much will Janis: don't know if sob story is the way you wanna go but Janis: you do you Jimmy: if you're sobbing, you do you Jimmy: probably get out of the mansion a bit more though Jimmy: it's fairly common out here Janis: boohoo? Janis: lemme dry my tears on a 50 Janis: what do you expect me to say Jimmy: don't say nowt Jimmy: shut up Janis: erm, say what I like Janis: who are you Jimmy: the one you're chatting shit to Jimmy: fuck knows why Janis: fucking hell Janis: what is wrong with you this morning Jimmy: the same thing that's wrong with me every morning Jimmy: but since you don't know me Jimmy: 1. it's news to you and 2. we don't need to go into it Janis: 👍 Janis: later Jimmy: 👌 Jimmy: [skip to lunch time when they'd show up & so would loads of other people lol] Jimmy: head's up, Juliet, your time to shine Janis: right Janis: okay, be there in 10 Jimmy: take as long as you need Jimmy: they ain't even ordered yet Jimmy: it'll look weird if you come through the door too soon after them Jimmy: like we planned it Janis: ha Janis: true enough Janis: they can kill a fair while, I imagine Janis: clean up properly then Jimmy: they can when they're too busy talking about us to pick up a menu Janis: ugh Janis: fun Jimmy: I'd forgotten Mia was still capable of speech Jimmy: I thought all the throwing up had destroyed her throat entirely Jimmy: she usually just communicates via 💀 stares Jimmy: I see why you two get on so well Janis: if you keep making me tell you I'm special and universally loved, you can't get mad at me for it, like Janis: and it's you that she's made the impression on Janis: that's Janis: nice Jimmy: getting mad at you for not taking a real compliment from your fake boyfriend ain't the same as not patting you on the back for being a dickhead Jimmy: yeah obviously hurry up or I'll run away with her Jimmy: won't be able to help myself & you've been warned Janis: highly doubt she can run Janis: bit cold to give her heart failure but I'm not crying here so Jimmy: I'll carry her then, more #goals anyway Janis: how Janis: she weighs sod all Jimmy: still get the rom com visual Jimmy: all that matters Janis: nah Janis: try and shift the big one Janis: that'd be something Jimmy: 😂 Jimmy: easy 💪🏆 Janis: can't just promise her free pastries Janis: that's cheating Jimmy: you can't just start imposing rules now Jimmy: too little too late Jimmy: & shamelessly cheating Janis: 🙄 she'd go with anyone for a cream cake Janis: even the least hot one Jimmy: like I said, easy Janis: ugh okay Janis: guess it counts as a win Janis: not happy about it though Jimmy: I'm not happy about doing my back in for her but Janis: needs must? Jimmy: you know Jimmy: how cute that we're finishing each other's sentences though 😍😍 Janis: 😂 Janis: if you could find a subtle way to let 'em know how goals we're being Jimmy: I've been 😍 at my phone since they came in, don't worry Jimmy: not an amateur Janis: good thing I stopped chatting or it'd be more like 😒 Janis: kinda cute but not really painting me in the best light Jimmy: like you said, only got one job Jimmy: I'll paint you in the best light you've ever Janis: 👍 Janis: you want me to leave it in the tip jar or bit too obvious Jimmy: where'd your sense of humor spring from? Jimmy: MIA a bit ago Janis: that was you Janis: cheek! Jimmy: can't be a comedian which you called me & a moody cunt which you may as well have Jimmy: make your mind up, Jenna Janis: if you can't do what I want and don't do what I don't, without any helpful direction, what kind of boyfriend are you Janis: tbh Jimmy: the fake kind Jimmy: & I'll fake owt you need me to Jimmy: starting as soon as Janis: 😍 Janis: you know the drill, yeah? Janis: swear I'll piss off long before they've even asked for extra sprinkles, probably Jimmy: not my first girlfriend or barista job Jimmy: but that is an offer I can't refuse Janis: spare us both the debrief then 👌 Jimmy: 👍 Jimmy: actually do hurry up though they're doing my head in Janis: you know they ain't gonna leave with me, yeah Janis: stunned into silence is a big ask, can try but Jimmy: I don't have to try Jimmy: it'll happen Jimmy: & I'll take it Janis: let the 💋 do the talking Jimmy: it will do Jimmy: louder than the bollocks they're chatting Jimmy: I told you, I know what I'm doing Janis: they do that, a lot Janis: should know better than me now Janis: I can try and avoid them out of school Jimmy: best customers remember, I do know Jimmy: & we're doing this 'cause I can't avoid them here Janis: exactly Janis: not forgot Janis: nor am I as dumb as them, tah Jimmy: skip the 'on the previous episode of the CG' bit then Jimmy: nowt you can tell me about any of 'em Jimmy: & even less I'd wanna know Janis: I ain't telling you anything Janis: it's all bullshit anyway Janis: whatever they're saying, that's a guarantee Jimmy: way ahead of you on that, sweetheart Janis: hope that's not the patronizing tone you settled on for your punters Janis: 😬 Jimmy: so you are worried about my job security Jimmy: well romantic 💕 Janis: I told you I weren't that bitch Janis: am leaving though Janis: be there in a few Jimmy: good Janis: what happened to take the time you need, boy Janis: only took a shower Janis: be grateful Jimmy: I said they're doing my head in Jimmy: & you already called me moody so Jimmy: tah for the romantic gesture of showering though Jimmy: 😍😍 Janis: so you gotta take every opportunity to be as sulky as? Janis: come on, I'll call you lots of better things if that's how it works Jimmy: do you want me to react to you kissing me like 😒 Jimmy: if the answer is yeah, take your time Janis: I thought you had this Janis: was your last gf a glutton for punishment or something 'cos no Jimmy: she weren't fake Jimmy: didn't have to pretend to be into it Jimmy: puts you at 👎 before you've kicked things off Janis: you said it weren't hard Janis: so which is it Jimmy: when did I ever say kissing you wasn't the bane of my life Jimmy: must've been drunk Jimmy: if I did Janis: grow up Janis: kiss's a kiss Janis: unless there's some unsexy scalding issue or similar Jimmy: not part of the deal, baby Jimmy: & no it ain't Jimmy: there's a whole scale of good & shit if you want me to rate you in a bit Janis: oh yeah! Janis: what girl doesn't want that Jimmy: if a kiss is a kiss what do you care Jimmy: don't matter, does it Janis: we don't trust each other, remember Janis: you'll just say I'm shit to be that dickhead Janis: and I know I ain't so who needs to hear more of your nonsense Jimmy: you don't trust me, I never said nowt about you Jimmy: I ain't that dickhead & I don't lie Jimmy: you're just shitting yourself about what the truth is Jimmy: that ain't my fault or problem Janis: sure Janis: your opinion ain't fact Jimmy: never said it were Jimmy: or that I give a fuck if you want it or don't Jimmy: I'm not 💔 that you don't like me Janis: you just called it the truth Janis: and you 100% said you don't trust me last night too so shut up, casual gaslighting here Janis: I wouldn't be Janis: don't like anyone, nothing to get upset about, ain't that deep, ain't that personal Jimmy: 🎻🎻🎻 Jimmy: how many times are you gonna try & tell me it ain't that deep like you don't have shit to lose if this fucks up Jimmy: you shut up, girl Jimmy: focus Janis: oh no, they'll bitch about me in cafes harder Janis: whatever will I do Janis: 🙄 Jimmy: end it then Jimmy: stop wasting my time Janis: as far as foreplay goes Janis: this is topnotch Janis: truly Jimmy: if I cared about you being turned on, we'd have bigger problems Jimmy: be in or get out Janis: don't worry, makes you the same as the rest of the lads Janis: I'm literally walking Jimmy: that ain't what I mean Jimmy: don't be a dickhead Jimmy: it matters to you or it don't so which is it Janis: come on Janis: ain't doing this for my health Janis: or a laugh, thankfully Jimmy: stop taking the piss then Jimmy: save your 🙄 for them on your way in & out Janis: alright, whatever Janis: I ain't asked you why you're really that arsed so you don't need to ask me Janis: it don't matter Jimmy: I ain't asking Jimmy: I'm telling you I ain't gonna keep threatening to pull the plug every time you have a strop Jimmy: & I'm the one who's acting 12, yeah alright Jimmy: sort your shit or leave me & it out Janis: oh my God Janis: who's told you to Janis: if emojis count as strops then you're fucked Jimmy: piss off Janis: literally just got here Jimmy: you're so fucking Janis: save it Janis: [comes in] Jimmy: [intense eye contact cos we know] Janis: [we know what happens not giving much chance for chat here] Jimmy: [just like we know he shamelessly ain't that good at faking anything] Janis: [when you have to bounce 'cos what was that] Jimmy: [the levels of hot it would be, I literally can't. It's a miracle they ever speak again]

[ardenttheories]

What would be a good land for a Muse of Void?

Muses are a bit harder to settle on. We don’t know an awful lot about what Muses are or even what their challenge in SBURB is. From what we can tell, the general gist of Muses are to inspire others with their Aspect, or to inspire others to create their Aspect. They are passive, and I would say that perhaps the challenge of a Muse is to inspire themselves; to realise that they don’t need to rely on others, and that they can do things on their own. They need to learn not to go from extremes - from lacking their Aspect at the start, to having an overabundance at the end - and to find some form of stability in the middle. 

Void focuses on Secrets, Darkness, Hidden things, Confusion, and Irrelevance, as well as Infinite possibilities. 

A Muse of Void thus inspires people with Secrets and Confusion and Hidden things, or inspires them to create these things - and has to learn not to let that overwhelm them, to find a sort of middle ground. 

In that sense, a Muse of Void’s land could be the Land of Truth and Shadows. 

The Land is one where Darkness is very rarely found. The sun shines down brightly on the Land, blazingly hot and nigh inhospitable, and you find that your Consorts seem to be few and far between. Those that you can see barter with one another using little Truths that they have found. The quality of their Truths is valued in terms of the all-desired Shade; they are allowed to rest in the darkness for however long a pre-determined judge deems the Truth’s worth to be, anywhere from a few minutes to several hours. 

Your Consorts are light-sensitive, perhaps something akin to Termites; if they stay in the light too long, they die. You soon find out that the Shadow shortage on your Land has led to the deaths of many of your Consorts - both because of the light itself, and because the truth that you have murdered someone gives you hours beneath the much-needed Shade. 

You can do several things to aid your Consorts: 

- You can inspire them to bury beneath the surface of the Land, shading themselves in the darkness and sparing them from the death they find in light. You soon realise, however, that your Consorts need some light in order to see; once underground, they continuously bump into each other, and many of them fall down the holes that others have dug. It becomes utter chaos and confusion. 

- You can inspire them find hidden Secrets, little truths that are worth plenty of time beneath the Shade in the world above. You quickly come to find that there’s just not enough Shade on the planet to allow for this, and that they end up having to queue for hours in order to spend time beneath the Shade. Some of them die, and the Consort population dwindles further. 

- You can inspire them to shroud the Land in Darkness, but once more you find that they are too used to the sunlight to handle such a sudden shift, and Confusion reigns once more.

- You can inspire them to Lie, so that they don’t have to waste energy searching the barren, scorched planes of your Land for Truths; the judge doesn’t know what’s a Truth and what’s a Lie, as the concept of non-Truths don’t exist prior to your arrival, so Lies can go undetected. You quickly find that this not only causes the same issues as inspiring them to find Secrets, but also that many of them become Confused about what’s Truth and what’s Lie, and blunder over themselves attempting to formulate a Lie good enough to get enough time from the judge to cool themselves down. 

Your Quest will be impossible to complete until you realise that you are lacking Void. 

For as much as you have inspired it in your Consorts, and as much as you are struggling back and forth between what works and what doesn’t, you must realise that you’ve not inspired it in yourself. You haven’t actually focused on yourself at all!

You need to recognise that, more than anything, it’s Truth that causes the sun to shine so brightly. 

With every Truth told, the sun shines brighter, and the Shade diminishes. You realise this after one of your Consorts manages a successful Lie; it’s absolutely minuscule, almost Impossible to notice, but the shade grows. So now you need to inspire your Consorts to Lie - except you already know that doing so will cause the Land to plunge into Darkness, and that your Consorts can’t handle complete Darkness, either.

You need to find a suitable middle ground between wholly becoming Void and wholly rejecting it. 

You need to inspire your Consorts to find Secrets - as many secrets as they possibly can - while also inspiring them to Lie. You need a few to Lie and a few to tell the Truth, so that the sun can shine at a rate where there’s equal parts sun and Shade; enough to be light enough to see, but also enough so that there’s plenty of shade for them to live within. 

Uncovering Secrets reveals that the sun isn’t actually a sun at all, but rather your Denizen; their body glows brightly with Truth, and dims with Lies, and can only be woken when the sun and Shade are in balance - when you, the Muse of Void, are in balance. 

So, you need to find the balance between having no Secrets and having too many Secrets; in having too much Darkness and not enough Darkness; in being overly Confused, but not being Confused enough. 

You need to inspire yourself to create Void and to be Void so that you can effectively inspire your consorts - and in this sense, I think the image of you, the Muse of Void, becoming invisible, and whispering little things to your Consorts until they slowly but steadily get the idea, should be something you focus on. You need to be a present influence but hidden enough that you’re not giving yourself away entirely. 

Eventually your Consorts will catch on. They’ll Lie and tell Truth in turns until the Shade and the light are in equal parts in the sky, and your Denizen will wake up. Then you can openly converse with them. 

I’m a lot less sure on this Land than I was on the last one, and honestly a lot of that is just because we know next to nothing on Muses so I’m going based a lot of what little we have plus my own theories - and if I’m honest, trying to put that into the context of a Muse of Void is actively even more confusing. It’s ironic, in that sense, and it also shows something really quite important; this is going to be a confusing Quest to try and complete, and it will take a long time to effectively figure it out. You may even be the last player to understand it and implement it. But in the end, you’re trying to understand that you can’t just focus on other people - you need to focus on yourself - and you can’t work in extremes - you can’t just inspire people into Void without knowing how much Void you’re inspiring them into. 

Muses are good influences and are made to empower their co-players. They need to get a grasp on their Aspect and own it as much as a Lord does, but to a creative and beneficial effect - not to a destructive or negative one. You can’t let you or your co-players become overwhelmed with Void - but you can’t let any of you be without it, either. Void has its place, and it’s your job to inspire it to a sustainable level. That’s what your Quest has to teach you. 

#long post// #ardenttheories #lands and quests #anonymous

[emkto42k]

So what is running a marathon actually like? On the day, I described it as one of the best and one of the worst days of my life. But looking back, it was actually the toughest day of my life and one of the proudest. As you all already know, running was definitely NOT my chosen past time or hobby. I would rather have sat with needles in my eyes than run a kilometre but on Sunday 22nd April 2018 I ran the London Marathon and even have a medal to prove it. There were highs and there were lows. There was laughter and there were tears. There was a pain in my right ankle that was indescribable and a jiggle to my bum that is unrepeatable. However, I never stopped and I crossed the finish line in one whole piece. The race was unbelievably mesmerising. The true team spirit between the runners was felt from the very start when I found a lovely lady (Rhodesy) who decided that me and her were sticking together for as long as we could. We ran the first 10km together chatting away about all sorts and laughing at the amount of people who could read my name but not hers. We waved goodbye at the 10km mark as she was extremely hot and had to take a short break. But I was not deterred. I carried on alone and began to really enjoy the atmosphere created by the crowds. It was such a hot day that the spectators were making a party of it. People had barbecues, were playing their music and offering sun cream out to he runners. Many parents had armed their children with water pistols and the children were cooling us down by squirting us as we ran past. The local fire stations even got out their hoses to cool us all as we ran in 24degree heat. It was just a brilliant atmosphere. However, this was short lived as by mile 16 the crowds had quietened down and the pain was kicking in. I had been overtaken by a Womble, Paddington Bear and the whole cast of the Teletubbies. My hips were grinding in their sockets and my right ankle was beginning to hurt. I was at the dreaded wall and there were no crowds to cheer me on. Queue mother bear with a motivational phone call, I short stint in the shade, a handful of jelly babies, and I was off again. Pounding the streets of London and adopting my jog/walk technique. As I approached mile 24, it was now getting to the point where it hurt less to run than it did to walk. My whole body was aching and my eyes were tearing up. I wanted to stop but the crowds were not letting me. Every where I turned, there were people shouting my name and urging me to keep moving. One woman even shouted, “you can’t cry now Emma! You haven’t crossed the finish line.” All of those amazing strangers kept me going and urged me on until I reached New Scotland Yard. At this point, I knew my family would be there cheering for me. As I approached I could see my mum and so started waving frantically. When I got closer, I could see my dad filming me and that Jack was there with his parents too. I couldn’t believe that they were still there waiting for me and they had smiles on their faces. It was THE best feeling ever knowing that I was making them proud and showing them that I hadn’t given up. The last 2 miles was all a crazy blur and I don’t really remember much in the run up to the finish line. I just remember crossing under the big red banner and thinking “NEVER EVER EVER AGAIN am I doing anything this crazy” and then bursting into tears as a lovely volunteer gave me my medal. Running the 2018 London Marathon was a truly amazing experience and, whilst I vouched to never ever do it again, I have unfortunately caught the bug! I also couldn’t have made it through the day if I wasn’t running for such an amazing cause. The amazing work that Father Hudson’s Care do makes running a marathon look like a walk in the park. I’d do this all over again tomorrow knowing that this charity are able to continue doing their fabulous work!!

#londonmarathon2018 #fatherhudsonscare #running #fundraiser

[andreasblazer3]

Fabulous And Super All-Natural Skincare Guidelines For Women With Dry Skin

The hottest time inside day amount of time in summers originates from 12pm to 3pm. So protect yourself by covering your body properly. You possibly can go with wide-brimmed sun hat gives shade towards the face from the same time prevents hairs from being damaged. Wear sun glasses to avoid facial experience with the sun and to stop eyes from that sizzling heat. Pay awareness of pollen normally causes an allergy especially in spring. Plenty of exposure towards sunlight brings you trouble as good. So wear a silk scarf dealing with your hair like a fashion accessory to shelter from the pollen and sunlight in the same time when a person going playing. The next step is as part of your a perfect brush that be which is used to apply help to make up over the skin. The brush should be soft, fluffy and full. Apply the make ups very moderately upon your skin. Could always advised to apply it in a circular fashion on for your skin. Protect Yourself Against Direct Sun Exposure: Even if you believe you are careful about avoiding the sun's rays, put on the sunblock when outdoors that has an SPF of 30 and is a broad spectrum protection. Cover your skin up as much as possible when in the sun for prolonged. The sun could be serious problems on your skin--damage you may possibly even notice until years down the queue. Use a men's sunblock with titanium dioxide preserve against uv rays. Check out "Protect Your skin from Sun Damage" for more information. Drink regarding water: 24K Radiant Aqua Cream Aqua Cream Reviews Accomplished in the spring to natual skin care water does sound pretty plain don't you find it? But did you will be aware that in order to remain fresh and healthy, skin tone requires a lot of water? Everyday we loose lots water from every thing which will be be filled again. If not then this might lead towards excessive dryness which down the road causes aging of the skin. Therefore drinking at least 7 to 8 glasses water everyday is very recommended. If you've got been confronted with the uv rays for a significantly period power without any protection, you may also keep your skin a number of tips. For example, you may use some watermelon juice to apply on the skin. After a time period time, may do Skincare Tips feel cool and secure. Do Not go outside without sunscreen, even are going to is for a short period of time, or on an overcast day. Approach has become popular absolute Smartest thing that down the road . DIY Skincare possibly do today to prevent lines. All amongst us dream of having a miracle inside is priced at. And so much ad copy leads us to think it exists: An instant facelift. Zero pores. Paper smoothness. But our element being flawless is absurd. Wrinkles happen -- adding character and depth towards confront. Other changes occur too -- features can a little more pronounced and bone structure may be more angular with. We get scars. We receive freckles. Along with other dings and dents. Are these catastrophes? Or simply a map in our lives? Certain products assistance offset all this, but aging produces a natural (and beautiful) process that transpires with all of us. And acceptance, not denial, Radiant Aqua Cream looks better on everyone.

[australianservices1]

Creating Your Perfect Outdoor Living Space

The warmer weather of Australia, and in particular the Gold Coast, means that a majority of our time is spent outdoors. So, having a functional and enjoyable outdoor living space is really important.  Creating an outdoor living space can turn into a complex project involving everything from cabinet markers to carpenters but the final results will be worth the efforts. In the end, you will have a practical and enjoyable addition to your home. After all, in Gold Coat’s beautiful weather who wants to be indoors?

Before you begin your home renovations or start searching for reliable carpenter, you’ll need to think about how your new area will be used. Do you want to build kids and pet play zone, an alfresco dining area to entertain family and friends, or a quiet retreat?

How having an attractive and functional backyard adds value to your home

According to Domain Real Estate online, a well-styled garden can boost the value of your home by up to 25 per cent. Such an addition can cultivate as much interest in a property as a new kitchen or bathroom. The old-style garden and big lawn are no longer in fashion as Gold Coasters opt for paved terraces, al fresco dining spaces, and barbecue grills. Contemporary, attractive landscaping can increase the value of a home as a standard lawn no longer impresses or intrigues potential buyers anymore.

Ideas for creating a modern outdoor living space

Once you’ve decided the functionality of your new outside area then comes the fun part - designing and building your perfect outdoor living area! Proper Job team of knowledgeable and creative handymen have years of experience in cabinetry, carpentry, decking and landscaping on homes across the Gold Coast. Here are some of ideas for creating a modern outdoor living space.

Building an outdoor dining area

Consider the location first – being close to the kitchen in order to easily ferry food and party supplies to and from the area or create an actual outdoor kitchen area.. An outdoor dining area needs resilient flooring that can survive furniture moves, weather extremes countless feet, not to mention dropped food. The surface should be practical and durable as well as being even and smooth to prevent accidents, and to allow easier cleaning.

You will also want to create a practical preparation area with storage where you can keep all your utensils and table linens clean and tidy – a Gold Coast cabinet maker can create custom outdoor kitchen-fit outs, with optimal storage, enduring surfaces,

Adding an outdoor kitchen

Since Gold Coast’s warmer climate allows us to spend more times outdoors it means we are entertaining family and friends in the outdooring living area. There are plenty of options for outdoor cabinetry, with beautiful stone or practical stainless steel. Not only will having the option of preparing AND cooking meals outdoors make you feel more together but it will make making it easier to bring food to your outdoor dining area, keeping smells outside, and saving money on restaurant meals as you will be more motivated to cook and eat at home.

Building a pergola and/or deck

Adding a timber deck or pergola can completely change the look and feel of your garden. Ensuring good shade is crucial during Gold Coast’s hot and sun-drenched summer. A shady cover provides a way for your family and pets be protected by the sun and rain whilst still enjoying the outdoors.  Remember that shade coverage can be attained by using fabric, plastic, timber or even plants such as crawlers or vines to create cover.

Another crucial aspect to consider when building a pergola or timber deck is choosing materials that are easy to clean and maintain. You want to enjoy the space, not to spend a lot of time cleaning it. Timber is a favourite, but you need to maintain well in order keep a great finish on it. Use natural oil that you can reapply every 12-18 months to make sure your deck or pergola lasts.

Herb garden for fresh produce

By creating a herb garden, you can have fresh mint on hand for summer mojitos or freshly grown basil for a great Italian dish. Think about how much sun or shade your garden gets when deciding on plants and also opt for local plants that are low-maintenance and thrive with little to no care. Also, make a distinction between annual and perennial herbs; the latter will spread and develop over time, so trim them carefully every once in a while.  

Add a water feature

If your outdoor space includes a large variety of plants, adding a water element blending into the foliage can be an excellent idea. You can opt for a pond, a fountain, or an artificial river – any of these can become a focal point of your outdoor space, while the pleasant sound of water will ensure complete relaxation for you and your family. Adding a water feature can seem complicated but a professional landscaper and plumber can easily add these features to your garden. There are multiple reasons why water sources are a good addition to your garden: they are easy to maintain, they look amazing, they can create a natural habitat for fish, they cool down your outdoor space, and they attract birds and other wildlife to your yard.

Fire pit

A fire pit is perfect for those cooler winter evenings and can become the centrepiece of your backyard. You can build your own fire pit from bricks, flagstones or metal drums, get some help from a Proper Jobs Gold Coast home renovations handyman or you can purchase a ready-made one from various local and overseas suppliers.

Outdoor shower

If you live on the Gold Coast you most likely have a pool or live near a beach. An outdoor shower is a fantastic feature to add to your outdoor living space. Aesthetically they can be creatively designed, adding a tropical feel.  They make it easier for you to clean off before venturing into the house, they are easier to clean then traditional showers and come in very handy when cleaning any muddy paws!

Outdoor movie spot

Due to current restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, there are many things we cannot enjoy as we did previously. A backyard cinema allows you to skip the queues and save on expensive cinema tickets and confectionary. Projectors are now super low cost and widely available, simply grab a sheet to create your screen and you’ve got an outdoor movie theatre!

An outdoor living area is a great addition to your home. This year we’ve spent a lot more time at home than we did in the previous years, it’s the perfect time to invest and improve. Home renovations Gold Coast services are on the rise as more and more people are looking to increase their property value and extend and improve, both indoors and out.

Starting to plan your outdoor living area? Contact a cabinet maker Gold Coast early in the planning process to ensure maximum efficiency and get some valuable and creative ideas from the professionals. Proper Job Maintenance and Renovations can help with a variety of home improvement and maintenance projects, including landscaping Gold Coast and home renovations Gold Coast. Contact us today for a wide range of services including repairs, renovations, electrical, plumbing and outdoor/landscaping works; no job is too small!

#CabinetMakerGoldCoast #LandscapingGoldCoast #HomeRenovationsGoldCoast #CarpenterGoldCoast

[mmtions]

wedding: impossible (pt.2)

(pt.1)

michelle jones/peter parker - college/future fic (wip)

Against his better judgement, Peter has agreed to be MJ’s fake date to a wedding so she can usurp the bride, or something. Considering how much he’d like to be her not-fake date, he’s not really looking forward to it.

Despite all her apparent indifference to them both - and, really, most of her peers - MJ had become a close friend to Ned and himself. So much so that he freely told her his big, spider-themed secret. (She’s actually the only person he’s deliberately told, which is a milestone he’s not keen on analyzing too deeply.) 

She’d reacted pretty calmly, actually, only hitting him with a medium-sized Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche novel, rather than the special edition hardcover that was also in reaching distance.

So, they survived high school together, becoming an unexpectedly tight-knit trio (with absolute no parallels to Harry Potter, shut up Ned). They even survived the entry and violent departure of Harry Osborne from the group, which caused all kinds of angst for Peter, definitely revolving around the supervillainy rather than the whole dating-MJ thing, thank you very much.

And they’d even survived college applications together. Ned and Peter had been talking about MIT since they realised it wasn’t a fictional place on spy TV shows, and Harvard should consider itself lucky to get MJ as one of its alumni. It was a happy coincidence that they all lived within a twenty-minute car ride of each other, really.

None of this, however, explains why exactly Peter is currently on a ferry to Martha’s Vineyard, trying to make conversation with MJ that isn’t horrifically awkward.

He’d picked her up from her college dorm in the car guilt-gifted to him by Mr. Stark after the whole Infinity War mess, and most of the words exchanged during the whole hour-and-a-half trip had been about which radio station to play. They’re currently sitting inside the main ferry, a booth to themselves, looking out onto the passing waves. Peter’s already wearing his suit, the plain black one he last wore to graduation, but MJ told him that she’d change on the journey. (As long as she’s not expecting him to keep driving while she strips off in the front seat next to him, he’s perfectly happy with the plan).

“Hey,” she suddenly says, apropos of nothing. “Does this remind you of that time with the Vulture and the ferry splitting in half?” Because of course she’d gone into scary-research-mode with she’d first found out his double life.

“Um,” he looks around. The smell of seawater is stronger when it’s not filtered through a fear-sweaty mask, and the view isn’t quite the same, but, “Yeah, kind of, now you mention it. Thanks for that.”

She snickers. “No problem.”

And, well, he finds himself smiling, because he can’t help himself, and because this is their status quo, her making fun of pretty much every aspect of his character, and he didn’t realise how much he missed it even in the past week.

He readjusts his tie - although maybe he could just have taken it off for the journey - and of course MJ’s eyes narrow in on the movement. “I like your suit,” she says.

“Thanks,” he says. “May said I should match the tie to your dress, but you won’t tell me anything about it, so…”

Laughing easily, she replies, “Gold medal to Aunt May for remembering prom etiquette. Anyway, I’ve brought two dresses with me, and they’re different colours.”

“I’m sure I could have packed two ties,” he counters with a perfect poker face.

“Shut it, Parker.” She leans to teasingly shove at his shoulder. “Seriously, thanks for coming. I was considering Ned, but I’ve seen him on Dance Dance Revolution, and I can’t afford to lose an eye during the macarena, you know?”

He snorts. “Sure, happy to save you from that. But who turned you down before you considered me?”

He meant it as just a joke, ready for her to roll her eyes and say a cheerleader or her current debating rival, but as soon as he says it, he realises how desperate it probably sounded. He swallows, and prepares his commentary on the weather, when she frowns, a crease between her brows like every-time he says something stupid.

“I didn’t consider anyone else,” she says, and she actually seems sincere, which, honestly, has happened maybe five times during their entire friendship.

He rolls his eyes. “I’m joking, MJ, don’t worry.”

“Peter,” she says, and she puts her hand over his where it rests between them on the bench. “Seriously. You were my first choice.”

He casts his gaze anywhere but her face. “It’s okay, I’m here, you don’t need to-”

“Peter, I needed someone charismatic, and hot, and nice, and who I trust. Your waltz skills were a big bonus, I’ll admit,” and here, she grins, disarmingly casual, as if his whole world hasn’t stuttered a little bit at so many compliments coming from her mouth. “But I wanted you to come with me.”

“Uh,” he says, eloquently.

“I’m gonna go change into my outfit,” she says, abruptly, standing and edging out of the booth.  “Stay here. And try not to sink the boat this time, yeah?”

He shakes himself. “Not funny!” He yells after her retreating figure. She flips him off in response, and a mother shields her daughter’s eyes from the gesture as MJ stalks past them, duffel bag slung over her shoulder. Great.

While he waits for her to return, he nervously fixes his hair - and probably messes it up more - and considers texting Ned. Although what would he send?

(hey, has MJ been complimenting you recently? unrelated q: how’s that alien mind control detector coming along?)

He could maybe text May, but she’d get the wrong idea. Well, probably the right idea, but she’s always liked MJ, even more after the whole first semester mess that was his month-long relationship with Carlie Cooper. Even thinking her name makes the smell of burning strong in Peter’s nostrils, and he shivers. Bad mental path to go down, Parker.

He decides to just refresh Twitter, liking Pepper Potts’ (@CEOStarkPotts) tweet about fracking, and Mr. Stark’s subsequent reply about where he’d like to drill for oil, which he only likes out of courtesy because the actual mental image is bleach-drinking worthy.

He quickly finds himself then in a internet spiral, and he’s watching a Youtube restoration of a dug-up axe when there’s a cough from somewhere near. He startles, and looks up, and then thinks that maybe the ship did sink and he’s dead. Completely and utterly dead.

“It’s red,” he chokes out. At this point, it might be easier to just tattoo ‘giant dweeb’ across his forehead.

She rolls his eyes. “Cheers, Parker, consider your next opticians’ appointment postponed. Seriously, is it okay, or should I try on the other one?”

He shakes his head so fast he’s in danger of dislocating his jaw. He’s staring, definitely, but he doubts anyone would blame him. Because MJ - Michelle freakin’ “fashion is capitalism’s worst industry” Jones - is wearing this long red slinky dress that looks soft and shiny and amazing. “Nope, no,” he says. (Smooth.) “No, I think that one works. It’s, ah, you’re really - it looks good. Yeah,”

God, it’s almost the exact shade as the red on his suit. Don’t worry, Dr. Octopus, MJ is going to murder Peter Parker by just wearing spaghetti straps, you’re welcome.

She slides back into the booth, and tucks her hair - which is out of its usual ponytail and falling all around her face in all its wild glory - behind her ears. “Thanks.” Then the soft smile is quickly hidden behind a meaner grimace. “This’ll show Anna.”

“You still haven’t told me what your big problem with this girl is,” Peter points out, thankful for the distraction of conversation.

She sniffs. “It’s a long story. And I can only tell it when the sun’s down.”

He rolls his eyes. He has no idea why he likes her so much, honestly.

-

They follow the GPS’s directions and arrive at the hotel, a charming place with white stone and a long gravel driveway accented with pretty, flowering trees. Naturally, MJ pulls a face at it.

“This is so typical of her,” she says.

“It looks nice,” he rebukes.

They follow the signs to the car park, and Peter only takes three tries, amidst MJ’s laughter, to get it into the parking bay. They traipse to the main entrance, other guests mingling and following their path.

"Wait," Peter asks as they reach the lobby and join the queue of people for the reception desk. "We're staying here tonight?"

"Yeah," MJ replies casually. "The ceremony and reception are here, so."

"You booked the rooms?"

At this, MJ suddenly seems distracted by her fingernails. "Room. Singular. And, yeah. Least I could do for dragging you out here."

He's too afraid to ask the other question he has, which is promptly answered when they get up to their designated Room 342. It has exactly one double bed, right in the middle of the room, like it's taunting him.

"I-" he swallows. "I'll call reception, get them to send some more pillows so I can sleep on the floor."

"Don't be stupid," she dismisses, already chucking her bag onto the right side and popping the complimentary pillow mint into her mouth. "You can't help little old ladies cross the street if your back's as bad as theirs. We can share."

Right. They can share a bed. Sure.

"When does the ceremony start?" Peter asks, a little desperately as MJ sits on the bed and bobs a little, testing the springiness, which is not a turn-on, shut up.

"In half an hour, probably." She shrugs. "I'm not bothered if we turn up late though."

He narrows his eyes. "You want to turn up fashionably late to a wedding ceremony."

"I'm not saying I want to, I'm just saying I wouldn't be bothered," she counters, with a straight face, until she breaks and stands back up. "Kidding, kidding. Let's go. I think one of my cool cousins is here."

He frowns, following her out into the hallway and only just remembering to grab the keycard from the small table by the door. "How come your cousin is here? I thought you knew this girl from middle school?"

"Yeah, we went to middle school together," MJ agrees, and perhaps Peter should know not to be fooled by her casual tone by now. "But she's my aunt's daughter."

Peter stops. Like, he actually stops walking, right there on the patterned carpeting. "So, your cousin.”

She mockingly shudders. "Gross. I try to pretend we're not related."

“This is your cousin’s wedding,” he says slowly, the horrible truth dawning on him.

She stops at the elevators just in time to give him a side profile of her rolling her eyes. “Yes, if you want to be pedantic, I guess.”

He swallows. "Exactly how many of your family members are going to be down there?"

She finally halts as well, and turns to look at him, raising an eyebrow like he's the one being ridiculous. Then she twists her lips, thinking. "Hm," she says, and he waits with held breath. "Only the ones on my mom's side."

Yep. He's going to die.  

He throws his arms in the air. Possibly he's being very dramatic, but come on! "MJ! Are you kidding? This would have been vital information before we got here!"

Something weird and undefinable flickers across her face. "Would you have not come if you knew?" she counters, which is really beside the point.

"Of course I would've come," he says, immediately, because it's the truth. If MJ asked him to come as his date to a wedding between a disapproving Steve Rogers and Electro, he would've turned up with his shoes shined. Regardless, he thinks he has the right to be a little thrown. "You're seriously going to introduce me to your whole family as your boyfriend? To get revenge on your cousin?”

He at least expects a little contrition from her. But instead, the elevator doors slide open with a small chime, and the corner of her lips are curling, like she’s daring him to do something. “You up for the challenge, Spider-Man?”

God help him. His head rolls back in defeat, and she slips into the elevator. He has a split-second to decide: and then he’s darting forward to slide in before the doors shut. 

She looks up at his entrance, as if maybe she hadn’t been all that sure, and he shoves his hands in his pockets. “Fine, I’m in,” he says, and his smile is met by one of her own. “But you have to tell me the story behind your hatred of Anna, and I get to tell everyone you cried at the ceremony.”

She bites down on her bottom lip in that way she does whenever she wants to laugh at one of his dumb jokes but is too proud to. “Deal.”

“And,” he adds as she presses the button for the lobby, because something feels different, and he’s still sparking from the sight of her in that dress. “You have to strongly imply I’m the best you’ve had in bed.”

He’s expecting her to laugh straight in his face. But suddenly her expression is… different. Before he can work out exactly what’s going on, the elevator doors are opening again, and she’s striding away.

He takes a deep breath, and readjusts his tie one last time. Come on, Spider-Man, he thinks, and follows her. 

thanks for the amazing response so far!! I think this is going to be my last update on tumblr - I’m going to finish the rest, and then probably post the full thing as a one-shot on ao3. hope you enjoyed this next part! 

#spideychelle #peter x mj #peter x michelle #spiderman: homecoming #peter parker #michelle jones #spideychelle fanfiction #spider-man fanfiction #i

[imagine-your-kpop]

BTS Reaction to their six year old son wanting to be a princess for Halloween

Jin: Jin and his son have been out all day running errand for the mom. he went to get he vaccines in the morning then a get well ice cream after worth, next they got new pants and churro’s to celebrate the new pants. Jin then brings up Halloween, he loved dressing up just as much as his son and asked what he wanted to be. “i want to be princesses jasmine” he was taken back at first, why not batman or a ghost or even Aladdin but his explanation was golden “i want to be jasmine cause she is rich and pretty and i want to me rich and pretty. with a pet tiger” Jin was legit impressed but his sons logic “oooohhhh i raised you right you right my boy, we’ll get you the costume after we finish our cake”  

Suga: He goes in to his sons room to see him dressing in a coloring book like normal and sees that hes drawing in a princess dress as best as his skills will allow him. When yoongi asks about it his son tells him “i wanna be a princess too, they are so pretty” yoongi has literally no response to this so he  just says okay and walks out the room all awkward and over to you in the living room “uh so your son want to be pretty, i think that your department sooooo” 

Namjoon: You and your son was in a great conversation about how being in a Disney movie would be so great. Your son brought up the point that you both wouldn't have to lift a single finger cause you would get a butler. You entertain this idea by saying “your daddy can be our butler, he’ll take great care of us” good idea according to your son. As if on queue Namjoon came out of the room from a nap and was automatically bombarded with butler jokes and commands. him being so dazed he actually went to get you both some orange juice until he realized it. “ah? hahah whoa when did i become a butler?” “when me and our son agreed on being princess this year” good luck namjoon 

J-hope: Hoseok asked first of what he wanted his son to be and after a long debate on what would be a cool costume his son finally suggest he should be a princess. “okay if your a princess then i can be the king right?” “no your the my horse” now you have a sassy ass son, you dying in the background, and hoseok speechless from his own son throwing shade at him.  

Jimin: While watching over his son him and the other members talk about Halloween coming up. his son get into the conversation saying that he wants to dress-up with his daddy, everyone including Jimin found this so cute cause ‘aww his son wants to do a cute little matching thing with his dad’ but when it came to deciding what he wanted to be the son explained “you should be prince Eric and i can be Arial. mommy says you look like that prince all time so you should be that” this just completely threw Jimin off guard and felt him speechless as the other members encouraged the idea and teased Jimin on his apparent resemblance 

Taehyung: You and Taehyung were having a comfortable afternoon in the backyard. your son was having a play date with one of his female friends and they come running up to you both and propose they dress as pretty princess for Halloween year. When Taehyung suggested that his son be a prince but nope, according to your son “no princesses get to be cared for more than princes so i want to be a princess” to Taehyung his logic checked out “oh i see, well makes since, id want to be a princesses to if it meant breakfast in bed” so guess who got to be a princesses this Halloween? yep Taehyung’s son and Taehyung.

Jungkook: Jungkoook was getting his makeup don’t for the annual Halloween party that BTS has for the fan when it 6 year-old son comes to him and the makeup artist. “daddy can noona make me look like a princess?” the makeup artist swooned over the cuteness of the little boy and promised him to look like the cutest little princess he could ever be. his son jumps with glee and skipped off to do whatever he could get his hands in all without getting real permission from his father. not like he would object anyways, his son was always a stubborn one.

#bts #bts reaction #kpop #kpop reaction #jungkook #namjoon #suga #jhope #jin #taehyung #jimin #rapmonster #yoongi #hoseok

[btsorpheus]

THE HI-TOUCH

I like to joke that on February 14, 2020, I met the love of my life.

I didn’t, of course. But for a second, I fumbled my way through a half-high-five-half-handhold with the K-pop boy group Monsta X and absolutely did not cry, no matter what Rolling Stone attempted to imply. (Yes, that’s me in the foreground of the final photograph.)

The hi-touch is an extremely weird event, to say the least.

Anxious because this was the first time I’d ever attended a fan event, I’d managed to show up four hours early. About three of these hours were spent nervously reading Orfeo by Richard Powers at the Coffee Bean down the street, occasionally looking over trying to figure out when people queue up.

The final hour was actually spent in the line. I tried to make small-talk with the fan in front of me, but soon gave that up when she grimaced in disapproval after finding out I’d been a fan for “only a month” then literally took me by the shoulders and shook me while insisting, “MAKE SURE YOU MAKE EYE CONTACT WITH THEM! MAKE EYE CONTACT OR YOU’LL REGRET IT!”

It was while I was worriedly scrolling through my phone that Monsta X rolled in in sports cars.

Just as I began to recover from the absolutely mind-boggling spectacles I’d already been forced to face, I was ushered into the venue--which housed six enormous cut-outs of the members’ faces. Which, frankly, was terrifying.

(Photo: Michelle Kim. Two of the “six enormous cut-outs,” featuring Hyungwon and Joohoney, set-up at Tower Records for Monsta X’s meet-and-greet on Feb. 14, 2020.)

I’d probably been waiting in there for around 15 minutes when the employees desperately trying to hype up the room (mostly full of nervous young girls) introduced Monsta X, who suddenly burst through the curtains on the opposite side of the room and rushed up to the table before hurriedly taking their seats (Kihyun, their main vocalist, barely had time to shrug off his jacket) and sticking out their hands.

After that, it’s just a blur.

Writing this approximately a month after the event, all I can remember is the first member possibly smirking at me, the second holding my hand more firmly than I’d expected, the third smiling broadly, and the last two seeming tired.

And then I stumbled out of the venue and called an Uber and was back home, largely unchanged.

(Photo: Michelle Kim. Paul McCarthy, Dead H Drawings, 1968-69; graphite and ink on paper. Paul McCarthy, Dead H Crooked Leg, 1979 and Dead H Crooked Leg Maze, 1979; graphite and ink on paper. On display at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, CA. Photo taken Feb. 22, 2020.)

The Gaze

When recalling the original myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, the first thing that usually comes to my mind is Orpheus turning around to look at Eurydice and to lose her. It’s the climax of the story. And though that Orphic gaze is translated differently in different iterations of the myth, it always seems to be a focal point.

Gazing at something implies a strange binary--it reveals that there is that which you can see and that which you cannot. Paul McCarthy captures this in his Dead H Drawings, a series of sketches of said letter with the space in the center horizontal line highlighted. If you were to look through the legs, you would never be able to see the inside of that portion; you could only see out the other end of the leg like a tunnel. Hence, it’s a dead space.

Even when just looking at a specific object, it becomes clear that you can only focus on one thing at a time. Everything in your peripheral is less easily accessed--forget whatever’s happening behind you.

In Orpheus’s case, the gaze is about confirming Eurydice’s presence yet also losing her. It’s both a moment of relief and of grief, of catharsis and of catastrophe. The nature of his tragedy is that he can’t have the first without the second; if he did, he will have succeeded.

For Scottie, the protagonist of Hitchcock’s Vertigo, it’s exactly this sense of conflicted intangibility that attracts him to Judy/Madeleine, the Eurydice-figure. Even when he believes she’s just Madeleine, there’s an element of fantastical unreachability to her--the fact that she is supposedly possessed by Carlotta. And then when Judy falls back into the Madeleine role, Scottie continues to push her to the edge until she dies a true and final death.

Perhaps this is what makes celebrities such easy objects of affection and what motivates paparazzi. Celebrity sightings, celebrity photos, and two-minute interviews--they’re all small glimpses of a desirable person that we wouldn’t otherwise be able to access.

(Screenshots of replies from Twitter on a tweet regarding how the original poster believes BTS loves ARMY more than ARMY could ever love them, taken on March 11, 2020. Twitter handles and personal information have been blurred for the users’ privacy.)

A persistent phenomenon in BTS’s fanbase is ARMY seeming to think that BTS’s members genuinely love all of their fans.

K-pop is particularly adept when it comes to commodifying celebrities. It’s why they’re referred to as “idols” and not just as normal performers. Their jobs are to record songs and dance at concerts, but they’re also expected to vlog, feature on variety and reality shows, film practice videos, take and post selfies, consistently interact with fans on Fancafe (a blog platform for K-pop idols), be gracious and friendly in public--and on top of all this pressure, maintain their appearances and memorize choreography and lyrics.

Because there’s hundreds of hours of content featuring them available, it’s easy for fans to believe that they truly, personally understand their favorite idols. But idols are first and foremost entertainers. Everything they do is in the interest of gaining more fans, who turn into consumers and therefore income. When taking into account their motivation, does that still make idols genuine?

In Sarah Ruhl’s play Eurydice, Eurydice loses her memory upon death. She must relearn who she was when she was alive through her father, also dead, as he reteaches her how to read, her favorite past-time when alive. 

By the time Orpheus arrives to guide her out of the Underworld, it’s unclear if Eurydice has regained her previous sense of self. And if she has, it’s been filtered through her father. 

Similarly, the return of “Madeleine” in Hitchcock’s Vertigo is a hazy recollection of the original woman.

(Vertigo (1958) dir. Alfred Hitchcock.)

Though Judy is dressed as Madeleine, talks like Madeleine, and walks like Madeleine, she’s only playing the Madeleine that Scottie wants to see. She’s putting on an artificial performance of what he expects in an effort to appease him. The Madeleine that he wants is a cool, refined, and feminine lady. Though not playing hard-to-get, she’s always out of reach as a woman both disconnected from reality and married, therefore unavailable. 

Judy can’t always be that. In the car, when Scottie drives her to the bell tower where the true Madeline died, Judy slips through her Madeleine veneer as she acts just a shade too coy.

Eurydice can’t always be what Orpheus expects her to be. The Backwards Look that ultimately causes him to lose her is an act of attempted confirmation, to be sure that he has her: the “loan” that Hades had promised him.

This Backwards Look manifests in many ways among BTS fans.

First, there are the sasaengs and fansites. They’re in some ways comparable to paparazzi--fansites especially, who consider it their (unpaid and unasked for) jobs to photograph idols at their every public appearance, even if they’re just going to catch a flight, then to share their professional-grade photographs online. Sasaengs take this a step further; they’re essentially stalkers who will buy an idol’s personal information to, for example, share a flight and book a neighboring hotel room to be as physically close to them as possible.

Though less extreme, there are also fan artists and fanfiction writers. Both attempt to capture the BTS members’ personalities and internal lives and manifest them in portraits, comics, and elaborate stories (often novel-length or longer). Artists and writers have to assume something about BTS when creating such content. There’s no way anyone could fully understand what’s happening in another person’s head. And when BTS is constantly presenting stage personas while acting like reality shows, filmed by dozens of cameras and producers, represent who they truly are, it’s difficult to say who the artists and writers are trying to capture.

Even a fan’s desire to stream music and videos and look at photos of BTS is a form of the Backwards Look. They’re constantly revisiting a moment and trying to recapture that first instance of experiencing it. This is the Eurydice moment--the experience of falling in love with a piece of art in a brief glance, and losing that feeling as soon as the moment is over.

These experiences are by no means limited to just BTS. Many fandoms, especially other K-pop groups’ fandoms, all experience this overwhelming amount of content consumption. But because BTS is the current Orpheus--dominating their music genre--they have the most fans, the most fanart and fanfiction, and the most streams. They are constantly under the pressure of the Backwards Gaze.

And they are constantly beyond it at the same time. In Ovid’s telling, Eurydice disappears as soon as Orpheus looks back (“she was gone, in a moment”). In Ruhl’s, the lovers “turn away from each other, matter-of-fact, compelled” as soon Orpheus sees Eurydice. When Scottie finally sees the Madeleine he wants, she dies in the next scene.

Eurydice is always beyond reach. And for every minute of content BTS releases, there’s still hours where they’re beyond the camera’s gaze. Are they the same in front of it as they are apart from it? Would they still profess how much they love ARMY if no one was there to record them? Would RM be as well-spoken? Would Jin’s laugh be the same?

It’s only been a month or so, but it’s difficult for me to recall what exactly happened when I gave Shownu, the leader of Monsta X, a horrifically awkward half-high-five-half-handshake. I tried to record what happened right after the event, but I was so shocked that all I could write for him was “funny little smile,” which doesn’t help much when I’m trying to piece together the memory.

Even in the moment, it was difficult to parse exactly what that “funny little smile” meant. There’s only so much time to think when you’re given just a split-second glance. Had Shownu been teasing, playing the flirt that loves all his fans as idols are expected to? Had he been genuinely excited to be there? Had he been embarrassed? (I know I was.) Maybe the smile hadn’t been funny, or little, or even a smile at all--maybe I’d read the moment all wrong.

Funnily enough, Shownu features on a song called, “Don’t Look Back.”

[« prev] · [next »]

#4

[such-as-it-is]

The World Is Round - Chapter 3

The fire sizzled and crackled gently as Maro lay by it staring up into the stars. Yet another thing to add to the countless list of things Maro could not experience from the swamp. And slowly, the stars started to vanish under a navy blanket of clouds covering the sky. Maro had been traveling for about 2 weeks ever since she left Forgaway, and was fairly close to her next destination now. People from the inn at Forgaway told stories about this town. It was a tourist town named Larone, famous for its luscious beaches, hospitable accommodation and vibrant carnivals. The map didn’t show where the towns, cities and villages are, nor does it show landmarks, so estimating how close she was was hard, but she reckoned she had about 1 or 2 days travel to go before she was there. The fire continued to burn while her eyes slowly shut, preparing for sleep, however, she was interrupted by a cold metallic feeling on the back of her her neck.

Quickly she opened her eyes, her heart now racing. Before her a silhouette of a man came into focus.

“Gentle now” said the silhouette’s soft, deep voice. “Let’s get a good look at you”

The man dragged her to the still burning fire while keeping is short sword firmly at her neck. He grabbed her by her shirt to lift her up in front of the flames. Now she could see him properly. He had long dark grey hair that came down past his left eye and over his shoulder blades. He had a very defined jaw line, but most distinguished of all, he had a tattoo that started both above and below the left side of his right eye, came together at the right side and continued down over his temple and past the bottom of his right ear.

Maro thought about offering her coin purse so that he would let go of her, but then realised that there were many of them and that  they probably had a different motive. He let go of Maro.

“I’m so very sorry” he said retaining his soft deep tone. “I”m looking for a woman matching your description” he continued. “However, she has the same tattoo as us. What are you doing on your own all the way out here?”

“I’m a traveler”

“Really now? And where did you come from?”

“Forgaway”

“Funny, I don’t recall ever seeing you there…”

But then came another voice, not quite as deep from one of this man's followers:

“Now’s not the time for chit chat. For all we know, she could have reached The Swamp by now”

“Right. If you see a woman like that be sure to tell anyone you ever see with this tattoo. There is a pretty reward for her. But only alive you see. That’s very important” said the first man to Maro.

“Hurry up now!” said a woman amongst the fellowship “You know she wouldn’t be so stupid as to sleep by an open fire in the night anyway” and with that they all marched off into the blackened  night, south for the swamp.

‘That was strange’ thought Maro. She could almost have sworn they were wearing water tribe attire...

Maro sat up in front of the fire, the shock from the whole ordeal still fresh in her bones and muscles. Shivering and now nearly paralysed, she found the courage to fall asleep on the open night, only extinguished the fire first. Larone was awaiting.

After about half a day's walk, Maro arrived at the top of a vibrant green hill amongst the meadows, from which she could see Larone. If Witnessing Forgaway was astonishing, witnessing Larone was bewildering. The town was simple massive, with it’s huge multi-level stone structures and houses, wide open spaces and intricate roads and paths. The waves coming in out out of the beach welcome site to Maro’s child like eyes. The town stretched out into horizon so that Maro could not even see the end of it. She walked down along the hill and into the bright and lively town. Even the clouds were clearning up now.

Everyone seemed to be so happy. There were street performers juggling and stalls along the streets selling all sorts of exotic good and foods. People pointing and laughing, couples and families all gathered around under the bright white clouds that were now hiding the sky. Posters covered the walls and lamp post on the streets of events that were being held in the theaters and the tents and the beach.

“Mummmmmyyyyy!!!! I wanna go see the Lizard Man” said in infant girl tugging on her mothers pants as she bought a fine painting from one of the stalls.

“Yes, yes, we’re going”

“We’re gonna be late!” said the other infant girl

“Alright, we’re going! We’re going” said the mother as she left with her husband.

Maro was intrigued by this Lizard Man. She knew that animals came in crosses like so, but never people. Perhaps this was another new phenomenon worth experiencing that could only be found outside the swamp? She followed the family around the booming streets when finally the came to flat area covered in grass. A small stage lay at the back while logs for people to sit on where starting to fill up. A brightly coloured pink and cyan fence surrounded the area with a man collecting entrance fees manning a gate right behind all the benches. Maro stood in the queue until she met him.

“How much just for me to see the Lizard Man?”

“One copper”

She handed him a small coin shaped in the earth kingdoms symbol. It was round and the faces were painted green with a square hole in the middle. Het let her in and she took a seat, right in the front row on the left hand side. People mostly filled up all the seats while Maro eagerly awaited to see this ‘Lizard man’. The sun set on the right hand side of the stage, causing a brilliant orange horizon to span itself around the town. A small lady took her place on the stage.

“Ladies and gentlemen” she announced as the crowd eased into a hush. “Throughout the history of world, animals have always crossed with each other, but never humans. This was a mystery that continues to puzzle zoologists even today, but despite that, nothing is more puzzling to anyone than what you are about to witness with your very own eyes!” She made dramatic arm movements and walked around the stage as she gave her little speech. Tensions began to spread amongst the crowd as she spoke. A smile even started to form itself on Maro’s own face.

“Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of Larogo Laray circus, it is my great honour to introduce to you today….. THE LIZARD MAN!” She said finally as she walked backwards off the side of the stage with her arms indicating to the back of the stage, where a dark figure could now be seen getting larger and larger.

The Lizard Man now stood proudly upon the stage, his body facing the audience while his head was staring off into the sunset on the right. His skin was a murky shade of navy blue and medium grey. He was a fat bald man, with a large head. He was wearing nothing but a rag as underwear, coloured in the same scheme as his body. His fingernails were really long, which kind of reminded Maro of her fingernails before she cut them shortly after leaving the swamp. The most intriguing thing about this Lizard Man however, was his long, lizard-like tail.

He got off the stage at the front, showing off to the crowd from up close. He moved his tail freely while the crowd ooo’d and ahhh’d, but Maro was less than impressed.

“Your just a man with paint all over your body!” she said to him as he got close to her. The crowd went payed no attention despite maro knowing people had heard her. The Lizard Man did not fret from this comment and continued on with his act. He looked maro in the eye and pushed his tongue out of his mouth, which extended down a couple of centimeters down from his chin. The crowd wow’d and clapped, but Maro narrowed her eyes and cringed with her face, still not knowing what all the fuss was about. In response, she stuck out her own tongue, which proved to be even longer than The Lizard Man’s. The crowd who could see gasped at Maro’s freak tongue, but soon forgot as The Lizard Man continued to blow their minds with his act.

After The Lizard Man had finished, he took and bow and the benches began to clear themselves. The crowd began to murmur amongst themselves about the amazement they had from the show as they flowed out the back of the performance area through the gate where Larogo Laray Circus flyers were being handed out. Maro stood up from her bench, her backpack lay heavy. The sun had sunk into the mountains leaving the cool night air behind. Just as Maro turned around to leave, she felt a tapping on her shoulder. She turned around to be greeted by the announcer woman.

“The Lizard Man said he wanted to speak to you about something” she said as she pointed to the stage, shrugged and then walked away.

The stage was empty, and Maro climbed up onto it to see a large silhouette sitting down on it’s back. She walked across the stage where The Lizard Man was waiting for her. Maro’s heard started to thump furiously with fear. She had tried to expose him after all, maybe he was mad.

An image rolled it’s way into Maro’s mind. An image of a ferocious river sweeping Maro down at colossal speeds, her trajectory perfectly inline with a giant Lizard Man, a stretched out smile across his face revealing huge pointy teeth and a ten meter tail splashing across the liver bed as Maro was forced helplessly to be rammed right into him. She could not bare to image the unspeakable things that he could do to her for what she did to him.

“Sit down” he said, and although his tone was easy enough, it was still enough to frighten Maro as she let out a short high-pitched screech from her jump-scare. This was the first time she had heard him speak, and his voice was not as deep as she imagined it to be.

“Come now… I’m not gonna eat you” he said patting the stage as an invitation for Maro to sit down. While it seemed now that he was not really mad, Maro still shivered as she sat down, keeping her guard up.

“You got me” he said. He turned his head to look at her and smile. “But you do realise why we have such tongues, yes?” He asked. Maro shook her head slowly.  “Why it’s because we're from the Foggy Swamp!” he said and laughed a little bit. Maro was shocked by this development. She didn’t even believe it.

“But why?” she said. She felt more at ease now.

“Do you know the story about the survival of the first men in the swmp?”

“Yes, of course” said Maro. The stories about the swamp and it’s people where the only resemblance the swamplanders had to a proper culture apart from the essentially meaningless and desperate religion they preached and brainwashed each other with.

Maro continued. “The first men who arrived at the swamp where nomads. They tried to live in the swamp for a while, but could not find their way out. They slowly began to die out as anything they tried to eat proved to be poisonous. They did not realise the swamps offerings. Eventually, some of them found that she could survive on the sap from the great roots and trunks on the swamp, however, the only for them to obtain this sap was to create holes, which would harm the swamp and so over time the learned how to differentiate between what they could eat and what they would not eat”

“That’s not quite it. You see, they had to poke holes in the roots and the trunks, yes, but the only way they could get the sap out was by using their tongues. Only the ones with the longer tongues could reach the sap and so the ones with the shorter tongues died out due to their lack of access of benign food. The ones with the longer tongues lived on and passed down their tongues so that the next generation could live as well”

“I see. And what about the tail”

He smiles and unclipped the belt that went around his waist that was covered by his underwear and kept the tail up. He took it off carefully and showed Maro that it was hollow and filled with water.

“Ah! That’s clever!” said Maro “It’s also immoral”

“What? No it’s not…”

“Yes it is. You’re making money by tricking people. You should be ashamed”

“HA! Anyone who is dumb enough to believe this act deserves to be stripped of their money. You may have fell for it this time, but I can tell, you won’t again… will you? And what do you know about money anyway?”

“I know enough to know that that’s a dishonest way of making it”

“Why do you care so much?”

“You know what the swamp is like, right? You know how they indoctrinate you into their bullshit lifestyle? Well I had enough of doing nothing but meditating all day. They teach you the world is intereconnected, and that everyone is related but yet they seclude themselves from everyone else! The hypocrites! They’re so out of touch with the word for people preaching togetherness and unity. There is a whole world out there, so many places to go, so many things to do and they sit under and tree and not think about anything so that they may forget that the world goes on outside the swamp. They forget that unity is actually about being together. That being together is nothing unless you live and work together. Unless you strive for greater thing! For growth and progress! They sit there in seclusion so that they may never have to work a day in their life. So that they may never be apart of anything bigger than themselves or be useful to anyone other than themselves or ever experience anything actually worth experiencing”

“Oh yes, I know. Trust me. Let me tell you something… what’s your name?”

“Maro”

“Ok Maro, let me tell you something. My reason for leaving the swamp was not quite so righteous as is yours. A traveler passed by the swamp and traded food with my family, and I got to try some fox turkey, and it was the most delicious thing I never tasted in my life. I left the swamp so that I could eat it as often as possible, and well, as you can see, I have been. HAHAHAHAHA!” He put his hands over his stomach as he laughed. Maro was not impressed. “Anyway, I quickly learned that society is tough and unforgiving. Have you been down to the beach yet?”

“No! But I plan on a swim tomorrow!”

“There is a little stand that sells this incredible thing called ice cream. When I first got here, I got a job working for a stand like that. I was paired up with a buddy to help run the stall. She ended up become a good friend of mine. Anyway, they are always looking for waterbenders to help them out. We got paid so badly, but I was fine to get around, and plus I learned immportant valuable lessons like turning up on time being reliable and working in a team. But there was another stand that also did the same thing nearby. They managed to sell their ice cream cheaper by paying their workers even less than my cart did. Naturally, people bought ice cream from there to save a couple of coppers. People didn’t buy from our stand and all the people who had been paid close to nothing now where literally being paid nothing because the stand had to close down. Finding a job is not easy, especially in a place like this where everyone live to serve their role. The area around here is pretty human centric, and so providing for myself with nature like I learned to do in the swamp proved of no use. It’s ironic now that I think about it. I left so that I could eat fox turkey all the time and suddenly I have nothing to eat at all. My friend and I stuck together afterwards thinking we could help each other out when needed, but she starved to death”

Maro leant back in shock. He continued. “In the swamp, everyone cares for everyone. In society it’s every man for themselves. I don’t know how you got this idea in your head about society being everyone working together for the great or good, but it isn’t true. I’m always gonna do what I need to do to not end up like my friend, so here I am”

There was silence for a while. Maro shivered at the impact of the story as well as the cool breeze that was brought along.

“I’m sorry about your friend”

“It’s ok, because now I’m doing the living for both of us”

“That was very unfortunate. However, I’m sure that society is built on the foundation of hard, honest work. I’m also sure that there is always a way”

“Oh Maro, you’re still fresh out of the swamp. I would tell you to go back to the swamp where everything is nice and simple, but I know you would not listen to me. I can see the adventurer's spirit in your eyes. And as such, I will suggest you keep traveling and learn what the world is really like. And please don’t die. Death is such an easy thing to come by out here” Maro smiled at him. “Circus Larogo Laray travels around a certain times of year. If you ever seen them around, feel free to come visit me, I would like to hear about your travels. Ask for Vinik. Anyway, it’s late now, so I better get back to the tent”

“Yeah, I better be off too. Good bye, Vinik”

“Good night, Maro” had said as Maro hopped of the stage and went to exit the performance area.

The next morning arrived and was headed for the beach this time. She was eager to try what Vink had referred to as ice cream. She found the inn last night by asking around and bought herself a decent meal and a room for the night. A couple of clouds in the sky was hardly a match for today as the sun beat down vigorously upon the town of Larone and it’s fine beaches. Maro stood upon a grassy hill bearing witness to the magnificent waves as they they grew tall, broke and crashed into the beach on the northern side. There was a number of people on that side of the beach enjoying the waves including a small amount of people riding them on boards made of wood. On the more southern parts of the beach more people gathered around where the waves were much smaller and hardly broke at all. The glowing pure white sand of the beach was littered by people under their umbrellas lying on towels, bathing in the warm sun’s radiants.

‘I’m a pretty good swimmer’ thought Maro to herself as she walked down the hill. She left her shoes and bag in the inn and was wearing light clothes which she thought was best suitable for swimming in.

The afternoon broke and Maro decided she had enough of the water. She was extremely pleased with the time she spent swimming amongst the breaking waves. But as she did so, she couldn't help but think about Ora. She had known Ora for her entire life, and while spending this much time away from her family and everyone else in the swamp seemed like a blessing to Maro, spending so much time away from Ora seemed to trouble her. As though a part of her was somehow missing. But she dismissed these feelings as weakness while she was drifting along with the waves. The young lady often just relaxed and let the waves carry her, as if it didn’t even matter to her where she was going because the waves knew best after all, and the definitely would not take her back to the swamp. They however take her back to the shore from where she started off.

Over the course of her trip, Maro was able to find solace through many experiences, even the ones that caused her anguish. She always felt good looking back on such memories even though she was in anguish at the time. And as she lay in the sun drying herself off on a rock on the sand (for she had no towel), she could not escape the conversation she had had with a Lizard Man not to long ago. It was echoing in her mind. And then she remembered the recommendation he made to her.

She got up, eager to find what she was looking for. And surely enough there was a stall. Maro could not read, and so she had no idea if this stall was selling what she was after, not only because of that but also because Vinik had not really described it to her, so she thought she would ask. She approached the stand and waited a bit for the queue to die down a bit so that she could converse with the one of the 2 people manning it. And surely enough, there came a time when the queue was absent.

“Why hello there! How can I serve you on this fine afternoon madam?”. The one who spoke was a young lady who looked like she could have been in her early or mid twenties.

“Hi. Do you sell ice cream here?”

“We sure do” she said with a smile and a soft giggle and pointed up and the sign that was standing above the stall. “We boast the widest range of flavours too! We sell vanilla, strawberry, passion fruit, mango, lemon lime, raspberries and blueberry” she said point to each tub of ice cream with it’s respective flavour inside. It reminded Maro of a rainbow she had seen for the first time on one of the rainy days she spent traveling even since she left the swamp.

“The most flavours? In comparison to what?”

“Why the other stand of course” she said pointing into the distance alongside the beach. Maro used her hands to shade her eyes and squinted them, peering into the direction she was pointing. Surly enough, Maro could identify another ice cream stall along the beach.

“huh… This friend of mine once told me that once there was two ice cream stands along this beach, and that one shut down because they could not afford to make their ice cream as cheap”

“Yes! That’s a true story… In fact, it was indeed us who shut down all those years ago, but now we’re back and competing again!”

“Really now? Wow! How can you compete with the other stand?”

“Oh it’s simple really, we changed the way we made the ice cream. This new way was more expensive, believe it or not, however, it meant that we got better quality ice cream. So while our ice cream is still more expensive, people still buy from us because our ice cream is better”

Maro smiled, with Vinik in mind.

Maro bought herself an ice cream with a scoop vanilla and scoop of blueberry, only because she like the mixture of those colours. After further conversation with the lady, she found out that the stand needs waterbenders to freeze the water under the tubs so that the ice cream can remain ice cream and not liquid cream. Maro had no idea how to freeze water, and nor did she want to stay at Larone for too much longer, so she did not offer herself up for a job. Indeed she stayed one more night in the inn and started to head off the next morning along the coast, where according to her map, her next destination was a forest named Hei Bai.

#avatar #Avatar The Last Airbender #fanfic #avatar fanfiction #the world is round #the world is round fanfic