#happy coach day. wish i was on a fast train but instead i am on a slow nat express coach. if i only a beautiful boy was to board just

[steelycunt]

tshirt that says WHY am i always on a PLANE or a FAST TRAIN? on the front and OH WHAT A WORLD! on the back

#happy coach day. wish i was on a fast train but instead i am on a slow nat express coach. if i only a beautiful boy was to board just #before it left the terminus and bring me a curly wurly and declare his love for me. welltheres still time #about to be terribly online sorry. well ive got nothing better to do send me fun asks if you like lets have a chat xx #(ridi's) bigmouth strikes again

[ive-tumbled-down-a-rabbit-hole]

Stories of Paris

Part 4

Part One Part Three AO3

Masterlist

................................................................

Damian was unhappy with the fact that with ‘strangers’ in *his* house their nightly activities would have to carefully navigated. His father nor Pennyworth had not explicitly said anything about it, but he assumed it was because they all knew what was expected. So, being told to line up in the entrance hall by his father went down like a lead balloon.

His pout turned in widening eyes of shock as he witnessed the tall wiry young woman (and a large man he supposed) exiting the car. SHE was his father’s babysitter. This was who oversaw the European branch of W.E. The person who owned the largest portion of shares of W.E (after the Wayne family that is). He was doomed. Damain watched as his father soften as he saw the woman.

“Mari! You never seem to age!” he exclaimed as she gracefully walked up to him and into his embrace.

“Mon cherie! It’s miraculous isn’t it,” she drew back slightly to look over his shoulder, “I see you have taken found family comment to the extreme, but I suppose you were never one to do things in half measures. It’s good to be back here after so long”

Looking at her like he was a child with pleading eyes, “You are staying here, right?”

With a gentle smile with a smirking edge, “Yes. If I tried to leave for a hotel, I’ll end up having the shadows watching me all night. Plus, this place always did feel like my home away from home.”

Damian glancing at his supposed siblings to see that they were also in shock. Probably not for the same reason. Panicking with it all, as he saw his father turn to introduce them to the woman, Damian drew his katana and aimed it at her.

“YOU were fathers' babysitter!!! But... what... you’re younger than him!!!! .... You’re the Grand Lady Guardian... I *refuse* to return.”

Damian vaguely recognised his name being shouted at him, but all his attention was on the Grand Lady Guardian of the Miraculous who stood, rolling her eyes, before him. He could feel her power radiating off, surrounding them all.

“Petit Tresor. I’m not taking you back there. Did you not learn anything from my teachings? Did you not learn to read between the lines? About looking deeper than the surface. You are with *your* found family. THEY are what is important. Bruce may have picked up a lot of my unhealthy habits about vigilantism, but he made a point of understand a good support network and the importance of chosen family. Despite how he enacts the teachings.”

The Monkey with her came to her shoulder and raised his eyebrow at Damian. He finally understood why he was always her bodyguard now rather than the Cat, being that he was her husband.

“You can stand down Petit Tresor. League and Court business will *not* be found here. The League know what will happen if they cross the Court, and I made it very clear after our last encounter when they tried to manipulate us to their advantage.”

Damian assessed the woman before him as he withdrew his katana from her and starting to become aware of the others around him again.

“Why has he got a chaos shard within him Bruce?” The monkey growled looking at him with a dangerous glint in his eye.

Everyone in the entrance hall was frozen in shock and panic. What was meant to be a happy reunion had been derailed but now, suddenly, somehow gained an even sharper edge. Marinette and her husband were aware of their nightly capers, and they also knew of the League, they were involved in something similar and aware of chaos shards.

Damian watched as his father gulped as he looked at the Monkey and the Guardian. It wasn’t often his father showed fear, but it was clear on his face as she arched her eyebrow at him. His siblings all looked on in surprise and uncertain of what to expect. Only Pennyworth and Todd seemed to be handling the situation with any sense of calmness. Surprising for Todd...

“Mari... his mother... the league...”

At the mention of the league the Guardians eye twitch so subtly you’d hardly notice it if not trained and with a minute flicker of her hand, the Monkey flipped his phone out and was walking out back outside to call someone... Damian straining his ears heard Peg and plan 42c being mentioned by the Monkey to whoever he had called.

“They were warned. Tsk, Assassin’s bullheadedness. Kim will sort this out for me for the present moment and we will discuss healing at a later point. Anyway, mon cherie, you were about to introduce me to your children. Petit Tresor I know, and I believe that that is Jason, mon rêveur, in the background though he has grown so much since our last meeting. So, I could guess everyone else, but why don’t you continue?”

The Guardian stated as if the topic of what just happened was over, much to Damian’s surprise. He sheafed his katana but still was wary of the woman and slightly in awe. He had a feeling that the chaos and downfall of his grandfather may have due to her in some way. Slight fear and dread for his mother was building as well. He finally starting to understand the reason for her over protectiveness when she taught him in the league now.

“Right. Mari, this is Dick, Jason who you already met in person? Cass and alongside her Duke, Tim who you meet briefly in the W.E. meeting the other month, Steph who has wormed her way into the family and Damian you who’ve also already met?”

With a polite cough drawing attention to himself, Alfred spoke. “Perhaps, instead of having a mother’s meeting in the entrance hall, we retreat to the drawing room where we can have some refreshments. I am sure that Ms Marinette and Master Kim are exhausted from their travels. It is most unbecoming to stand around loitering, wouldn’t you agree Master Bruce?”

Bruce muttered something as his ears started to tinge red, Marinette turned to Alfred and smiled as she drew him into a hug while Bruce collected himself.

“Yes, right, that sounds like a fantastic idea Alfred. Mari, shall we?”

Bruce offered her an arm which she elegantly took as the took off in the direction of the drawing room delving into conversation with Bruce leaving behind a shocked collection on children in the hall. Alfred slipped off to prepare the refreshments.

Damian cringed as Dick exclaimed, “YOU GUYS KNOW HER?!?!?!!” which echoed around the manor as he finally processed what had just happened.

______________________________________________

Alfred smiled as the atmosphere within the Manor shifted over the last few weeks. It now had a different air about it. Master Bruce became less sullen and slightly less repressed under Marinette’s watch and the Manor started to feel lighter again.

Alfred had found great amusement when he stumbled in on Master Kim lecturing Master Bruce on being dense especially the “I know I’m dense but kwami Bruce! You’re worse than me realising all the competitions I got Mare rigged into was because I wanted to impress her! Let’s start at the beginning, ok?!”.

He hoped that Master Kim might be able to knock a bit of sense into his wayward charge. He knew Ms Marinette, though full of good intentions wouldn’t be able to with Master Bruce’s strange ability to pick up on the wrong message being given.

The highlight of the week was when he entered the family living room to find all his grandchildren looking pale as Master Bruce acted semi child-like in front of Ms Marinette. It was a delight to see Bruce act like the child that he knew he was reawakened again. Even if it terrified the grandchildren.

The whole family discovered that Bruce had been very selective of the stories and information that he had told them about Marinette. She had taken great delight telling them all about what teenage Bruce really was like.

About the time Bruce had a fan induced panic attack on meeting the Jagged Stone. Alfred was slightly aware of something happened but not the details.

About the time Bruce decided to practice parkour in the Manor gardens and ended up stuck halfway up the side of the Manor unable to climb up further or climb down. Alfed was positive he was unaware that Marinette joined him and had to coach Bruce down.

About the series of times that Bruce attempted to prove to Alfred that he had ‘outgrown the kitchen ban’ and had ‘observed Mari’s baking skills sufficiently’ to be able to try again for only the attempts to go south fast. Alfred grimaced at the memories that that bought up. He was glad that he’d got a good working deal with local kitchen fitters and suppliers given the number of fires.

It became a daily breakfast occurrence that Bruce mortified Marinette in his outfit for the day. The breakfast entertainment became watching Marinette tear into his fashion choice of the day, drag up some past clothing or costume disaster. She ended up moaning that he had learnt nothing from her rantings about clothes over the years and stare forlornly into her coffee cup. It was providing the bat boys a wealth of black mail material that Alfred had to on numerous occasions reel Marinette from her tangents.

The only time he let her completely go to town with was letting her regale to everyone about Bruce’s dramatic and insistent argument on fighting crime in Lyca, wearing pants on top of tights and with a cape, that he really insisted that he didn’t need to use Kevlar (that decision didn’t last beyond a few training sessions and one patrol night). Alfred was pleased with her ability to rein that disaster in quickly.

It was in the comfort of the kitchen away from the antics that happened Alfred mused and reflected on his notional niece's visit. Alfred wished he had thought to bring Marinette over sooner as he witnessed that fraught relationships between the Waynes soften. Issues didn’t disappear but Marinettes presence, and ability due to dealing with Akuma, helped mitigate situations which typically would have blown up. Kim always by her side would help soothe, distract, or explain to the puzzled Bruce the techniques Marinette was using to stop the escalation.

She’d slowly began charming and connecting with his grandchildren. Be it by giving Tim pointers on how to manage W.E board members effectively and playing video games. It was eerily like how she warmed Bruce up to her.

By Sitting quietly reading with Jason or playing chess and talking in metaphors about life, death and balance. Slowly having ‘healing sessions to calm the pit madness’ with meditation and grounding sessions.

With Damian she seemed to remind him of alternate grounding techniques which she’d shown him in the league. They seemed to spend time talking in hushed whispers about other stuff that Alfred wasn’t currently privy too.

Duke was with poetry and music. Cass with dance and gymnastics, silent subtle conversations occurred but seeing Cass smile and edge towards being more tactile made Alfred glow with warmth inside. Steph and Marinette commanded the kitchen numerous times baking pastries, waffles and other treats.

Dick took the longest to warm up to the woman, having heard and known about her for over a deacade but never met it was understandable. Alfred wpould never knew what Marinette had done but one day the hostility and coldness disappeared. A joy, childlike smile appeared on Dicks face every time she was in the room, and he’d follow her round like a loat puppy. Watching and mimicking her techniques to calm his brothers down.

How his grandchildren acted with Marinette in the activities brought echoes of memories of her with Bruce to the forefront of Alfred’s mind.

Sighing, in the short time the Manor felt warm and like a family, a home should feel like. Much like before his friends’ death. Schooling his emotions, Alfred set about to serve the family and Parisians last dinner together.

______________________________________________

Bruce tried not to sulk. Tried not to revert to the mind set of when Marinette originally disappeared physically from his life. Especially in front of his children but it was hard. She somehow always managed to take the overwhelming pressure away from him, like he could breathe and be.

Alfred was his father, in all the ways that counted, but the burden of death and saving the world was something Marinette understood at a deeper more personal level. Having her here made it feel safe to feel, that he would always be caught. That she would save him from the consuming darkness. She was the light in the world shining out in the Gotham gloom.

As expected, his children adored her in their unique ways. Following her around like little ducks scrabbling for crumbs of knowledge and titbits of information. Bruce lips twitched as he witnessed them behaving much like he used to. Taking the gems’ she passed on to them and ferreting them away much like he did.

“Master Bruce, I expect better behaviour this leaving gathering than our previous party, please.”

With Alfred’s comments Bruce gave into the feeling of pouting. Why deny how he felt toward the situation where he wasn’t in control. He pointedly ignored the stares that his children were giving him. Again.

“Mon tresor! It’s not like you aren’t going to see or speak to me again. We speak regularly as it is. It’s not the same as it was last time. You know this.”

“But Mari, it's nice having you here. This is your home.”

“Is he always like this Mare, Cupcake? How is it that all the kid’s you’ve looked after end up demanding you live with them?”

Bruce choked at Kim’s statement and the Wayne clan burst into laughter. Alfred let a small smirk grace his face.

“Oui, Mon Amour, He wasn’t happy last time I left at all. Be grateful I learnt to resist kitten eyes or we’d never have reconnected. Manon doesn’t count. She’s practically family as well with how close Maman and Nadja are.”

“What about Elle, Etta and Chris? What about Ivan’s and Mylene’s sproglian? Fang? Jagged’s second round of terrors? Luka and Jules too really.”

“Hush, Mon Amour, circumstantial evidence.”

Bruce observed Kim stare at his wife in disbelief before waving his hand around the room.

“What about these then. Don’t give me that look Cupcake. I’m gonna end up needing to fight the whole batclan at this rate to get you on a plane with me! Maybe I should give Peg’s the heads up that I’ll need his help.”

“I can assure you Master Kim that you *both* are free to leave. The young master's understand that they cannot kidnap you. It would not be becoming of them OR look good for the company for the family to kidnap its own workers.”

Bruce and his family guiltily ducked their heads at Alfred’s comments. When Alfred turned away to start talking to Kim, Tim leant in close to Bruce to whisper to him.

“Do you think we have the power to move her to being director of North America rather than Europe? Mari would be closer then? Plus, the guy in charge isn’t all he’s cracked up to be so the board would likely approve it.”

Bruce stared at his son at the ingenious and simple solution and smiled, before ducking his head when Alfred pointedly looked his way.

“We’ll discuss that concept later.”

Bruce gave Tim a subtle nod as if he was approving the idea. Technically he was but Alfred didn’t need to know that. Nor did Kim really, as he would fight him if he found out and he’d rather not deal with an ex-olympian superhero, even when he pulled his punches they hurt far more than the average persons.

Bruce sat back into his seat and smiled as the conversation and chaos flowed around him. His whole family finally together and he cherished it. He knew it wasn’t going to last much longer with the impending flight looming but for now he had a potential and creative plan to work on. If he framed it right it could also become the prefect family bonding activity that both Marinette and Kim thought he needed to do more of outside of vigilantism. And if the end result was that she moved closer, well, that’s just an added bonus in his eyes.

With that in mind, Bruce joined in with the choas enjoying the moment with his complete family. Nothing could take this away from him.

Tag:

@neakco @corporeal-terrestrial @jayjayspixiepop @lady-bee-fechin @prettylittlebutterflie

#maribat #maribat au #ml crossover #ml x dc #mlb x dc #dc x ml #dc x mlb #marinette x bruce #marinette x alfred #platonic #found family #babysitting #marinette x jason #marinette x dick #marinette x tim #marinette x damian #all platonic #dickinette #jasonette #timari #damianette

[thiswasinevitableid]

#5 Danbry SFW, please ;-; *prayer hands emoji*

Here you go!

5) I’m a pro athelete at a press conference and I make a comment to my buddy about you because I forgot my mic was on.

Context note: 27/5 is twenty seven laps in five minutes.

The Kepler Wrecking Belles are still taking questions, though Aubrey (skatename: Lady Flame) is starting to wish they’d wrap this dang thing up. Their team has won every exhibition game they’ve played at RollerCon (thus far) and so everyone has questions about their strategy and how a team from such a small town can be wiping the floor with teams from bigger cities. 

“Okay, one more question, then my girls have gotta go rest up.” Their coach and founder of the Kepler Wrecking Belles, Mama (skate name: Mama Bear, now retired), scans the crowd, “yeah, you, in the far right.”

Aubrey turns to look and suddenly has zero interest in ending the conference. Sitting there, tablet in hand, is the most gorgeous woman she’s ever seen. Blonde hair, a few stray freckles, a body that’d make a girl fall head over skates…

….oh shit, she’s asking a question. Aubrey really hopes someone else has got it.

“Hardest part of our training regime?” Sitting next to her, her teammate Juno (skate name: Divine Fury) taps her chin, “when Mama puts us through circuit after an entire practice of speed drills.”

“Really?” The blonde leans forward, curious, “that’s harder than doing the 27/5?”

Her teammates trade looks, murmuring among themselves, nodding, and Minerva (skate name: Chosen Buns), adds, “She puts basic training to shame.”

“No wonder you all are doing well, sounds like she puts you through your paces.” The blonde makes a few notes and the press conference comes to a close. 

But all Aubrey can think is, “like to put her through her paces.”

Oh no, she said that out loud. Wait, why is everyone looking at her, she whispered it right?

“Mic.” Juno points to the treacherous piece of sound equipment as the team dissolves into degrees of hysterical laughter.

Aubrey turns, finds the blonde blinking at her, stunned, as she packs up her things. Then the crowd is moving and Aubrey loses sight of her. 

“Shit, shitshitshit.” Aubrey stands, vaults awkwardly over the table. 

“Where the hell are you goin’, Lady Flame?” Mama raises an eyebrow, 

“I gotta go apologize and also, shit, nevermind!” She takes off, wishing she had her skates on as she stumbles through the crowd, looking for a flash of blonde hair. Which, given how many women here are blonde, is not the best strategy she’s ever come up with. 

She gets lucky, spots the woman getting into an elevator on the far end of the main hall. 

“Hey! Hey!” She waves, causing several people (including the blonde) to look. When their eyes meet, she blushes instantly. 

“I’m super sorry for my comment that was really inappropriate I just meant I think you’re cute is all but in like a respectful way!”

The woman smiles, calls back, “it’s okay And, um thanks!”

“You’re welcome can I-”

The elevator door shuts. 

“-get your number?” Aubrey finishes, much softer than before, “Aw, beans.”

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

“Aubrey, we’ve got three more days of the con, I’m sure you’ll see her again.” Juno pats her shoulder as she straps on her kneepads. 

“But what if I dooooooooooon’t? It’s been a whole day already and I haven’t seen her at all.”

“It’s still  big con. It might take a bit. Wait, is this why you keep offering to the be one to go get drinks or the first aid kit or whatever else we forget back in the room.”

“.....Yes.” Aubrey grumpily rests her face in her palms. 

“I see no sign of her in the rosters.” Minerva holds up the program containing photos of all the teams.

“Guess she’s not a player. Could be a ref, or just a fan.”

“Yeah” Aubrey sighs, clips her helmet on, “c’mon, let’s go warm up.”

The bout is against the She-vil Dead, and Aubrey is a little nervous; it’s still just an exhibition, but as Pivot it’s her job to coordinate many of the on-track plays. She doesn't want to look bad in front of the big dogs. Or anyone else who might be watching. 

They pull ahead fast; Juno is not only a speedy Jammer, she’s agile too, meaning she has no trouble dodging She-vil Dead’s blockers. Not to mention Minerva is a terrifying blocker against the opponents players. 

Then it happens; she’s skating, scanning for plays, when someone cheers her name in the stands. 

It’s the blonde, complete with little red and black cheerleading pom-poms that match Aubrey’s outfit.

“Look-” Minerva is cut off by an opposing blocker hip checking her before the same blocker sends Aubrey skidding down the track. She gets up to take her place in their formation, and can already tell she’ll have track burn for the next week. 

When they hit the next break, Mama knocks playfully on her helmet, “play now, flirt later.”

Aubrey does exactly that, and the Wrecking Bells win by a slim margin. She’s on the bench, taking off her skates and surveying the rash on her leg, when a shadow blocks out the lights. 

“Um, hi again.”

“Hiiii, um, I mean, hi.” 

“You’ll have to excuse her, think she took one too many hits today.” Juno teases and Aubrey flips her off as the blonde laughs. 

“Do you-”

“Can I get your number?” She is not missing her chance again. 

Another laugh, like neon on a warm summer night, “I was going to ask if you wanted to get a drink later.”

“Hell yes. But also please give me your number because if I lose track of you again I’m gonna die.”

“Or she’s gonna get us killed because she’s lookin for you instead of watchin the track.” Juno calls, zipping up her sweatshirt.

Soon Aubrey has a new number in her phone and a promise to meet Dani at the bar at seven. 

She arrives in her best black miniskirt and red top, spies Dani waving her down from an outside table. She looks so pretty. 

“You look so pretty.”

“Thanks. You look hot.” She grins.

Aubrey points finger guns her way, “I see what you did there.”

“My brother is the real punmaster in the family. Uh, were you really looking all over for me?”

“Yep. I wanted the chance to prove I really was interested in getting to know you. So, um, are you just a big derby fan?”

“Yeah, I did some boot camps but could never quite commit to the time needed to do more. I still love watching people play. I’m, uh, I’m actually moving to Huntington.”

“But that’s not far from-”

“Kepler, I know. That’s why I started following the Belles; they’re the closest team and I wanted to root for them. You’re, uh, you’re my favorite player. I think you’re just...you’re so cool.”

“Aw geez,” Aubrey jiggles her leg, “how am I suppose to out-flirt that?”

“By being yourself?”

“Dang, you’re good.”

Aubrey spends the next two hours on cloud nine as she shows Dani pictures of her pet rabbit and listens to her talk about her work in sustainable gardening. They talk shop too, Dani curious about what it’s like training under someone as formidable as Mama. 

The crowd in the bar bar is thinning out when Aubrey crosses her legs then uncrosses them in a hurry.

“Ouch.” She looks down at her track burn. 

“Yikes, that really is bad. I should apologize, because I guess it’s kind of my fault.”

“I mean, that huge blocker did most of the Gaohhh, oh I get it.” She giggles as Dani bends forward and plants a line of kisses up the mark. 

She sits up but stays leaning, meaning their faces are oh-so-close together, “Better?” 

“Uh huh.” Aubrey moves in, kissing her and getting a happy sigh and a kiss back. 

“I have some more apology ideas.” Dani gives her a mischievous smile. 

“Fuck, guh, um, don’t think I can tonight. We have a match tomorrow and Juno might literally kill me if I come in super late and wake her up. Tomorrow night do you wanna, like, go to dinner?”

“Definitely.” Dani stands and Aubrey mirrors her, “if I don’t see you before then, good luck tomorrow.”

“Am I gonna see my favorite fan in the stands tomorrow?” Aubrey purrs hopefully moving in for one last kiss. Dani obliges, then kisses her nose. 

“You know it, hot stuff.”

#danbrey #aubrey little/dani #meet ugly #Prompt Fills #TAZ Amnesty

[rkjinwook]

• • •  STARTING LIVE!

       02AUG2020  |   🐥 JINWOOK’S HAPPY BIRTHDAY 🥳 🥳        DURATION   |   1:02:22

it’s a cute set, albeit typical for this kind of broadcast. the staff have provided jinwook with a fixed camera framing his mini birthday table, complete with multicolored balloons decorating the back wall. there’s a small tablet to monitor the stream and comment feed, which jinwook fiddles with as he waits. in retrospect, he thinks it would’ve been nicer to hold a more casual conversation with fans for his first solo live, but that might just be the nerves talking.

he fills the silence with music, his guitar in his lap. it’s an everyday sight, but jinwook realizes most fans won’t have heard him play much, so he takes care to warm up cleanly, and warm up his vocals too. he only alternates between a few simple chords, though. it’s the sort of background music he used to hear when he’d occasionally attend church services with eve. as jinwook plays he imagines an audience quietly filing in, taking their seats at his birthday party as they each receive the live notification. finally the staff motions for jinwook that the actual video is starting, and he rests the instrument in his lap, out of view for now.

“hello! i’m convex’s sunshine, jinwook.” the greeting is bright and familiar as he dips his head toward the camera. it’s unlikely that the viewers, who arrived so early from a notification, don’t know his name, but it can’t hurt to start off formally. “today is my birthday! yay!!” also evident from the title and the backdrop. jinwook gives himself a round of applause anyway. then he picks up a party hat from the table and slips the cone over his head. “tada~” 

“since we can’t meet in person, i wanted to greet you all with a live today to celebrate.” there’s a pause as jinwook adjusts the thin elastic of the party hat. he takes a breath. “last year, hmm...” he taps a finger to his cheek as he thinks back. “oh, last year i made cupcakes! i was helping our team sphere on the mgas.. so i couldn’t meet consta that time, either.” jinwook hums in thought, suddenly a bit nostalgic about his time as a coach. he shakes his head. “so i’m excited to try this out now.”

“let’s see...” he says, quickly moving on, “is everyone settling in here alright?” he peers over the tablet and rests a finger over the chat to pause its scrolling speed. the amount of viewers is staggering and the number only keeps rising, but jinwook focuses on the individual users sending messages instead. it’s a relief to see the majority in his native language. “hello and hello and hello,” he says, reading off a string of usernames and greeting each one individually, “and thank you for coming, and thank you for coming, and thank you for coming~!”

when jinwook releases his finger from the screen, the chat jumps back to life, shifting too quickly to read. he frowns and tries to pause it again. it takes some concentration to read off the unusual username combinations, but he does his best.

💬  :  happy bday 🥳 🥳 🥳 💬  :  you look handsome!!! 💬  :  happy birthday oppa~ 💬  :  thank you for being born 💖🎁🎁 💬  :  bare faced jinwook is the best!

“ah, thank you~ hello!! thank you too~ thank you for being by my side! oh! this one...” jinwook is startled into a laugh at the last comment, bringing a hand over his mouth. when he drops his hand he shows his full face to the camera, grinning. “this is definitely not bare faced jinwook, but, still i appreciate you thinking so~”

as he tries to keep reading, he tilts his head and squints. many of the messages are just full of celebrating emoji or animated emotes. it’s less to parse, but more noise to sort through. “ah, so much emoji in chat, you all must’ve learned from me, huh...” he muses.

after another minute he leans back again, his nerves settled. well, jinwook’s never had much trouble even talking to himself, so it shouldn’t surprise him that speaking to a bustling chat window comes naturally, too.

💬  :  did you have a good day so far?

“i’m happy today!” jinwook answers confidently. “my grandmother always wakes up early on sunday mornings, so i called her on the way to practice! and later tonight i’m going to video call with my family. actually i told my sister what time i was going live, so she might be listening too?” jinwook squints back down at the tablet and bites his lower lip. “ah, the chat is going way too fast to tell...”

💬  :  where are the other members!!

“hmm, training?” jinwook grins. “i’m taking a break to talk for right now~ but we are all working very hard otherwise!” he shares another smile, proud of himself for not mentioning anything further - although if his eyes sparkle, he can’t be held responsible. “they might stop by at the end!”

“that reminds me!” jinwook reaches below the table for his bag, pulling out a fresh journal that jaehyun had gifted him in the morning. he holds it up for the camera, proudly showing off the nice foil accents and the fold-out attachment. “my roommate, haru, got me this really pretty notebook. it’s supposed to work as a real midi keyboard.” jinwook’s runs his fingers over the cover. “he has good timing since i am almost out of pages in my old notebook... i’m excited to use it.”

💬  :  oppa’s hair is cool today!

“my hair, ah..” jinwook reaches absently to touch it, pleased. “it grew!” it’s worn longer than it was for pretty u era, freshly dyed and parted down the middle. he’s lucky he’s even allowed to have it showing for the live right now, since it’s a similar shade to his old cut. “i’m kind of happy, since it feels healthy recently...” he chuckles a little, the compliment leading him to another train of thought.

“speaking of cool, consta, did you guys see our call me baby special stage last week?” jinwook looks up to the camera and leans in, curious. “the concept was slightly darker for us, since unit black is so, you know... cool.” jinwook gestures vaguely but laughs at the understatement. it’s not a big enough word to describe some of the biggest superstars in the industry. “we have songs like rock but it’s different from convex‘s usual image, maybe,” he adds thoughtfully, knowing full well that their next comeback is inching in that direction. “do you think we suited it well?”

💬  :  convex is cool too!

jinwook nods, pleased by the positive responses in the chat. “so it was okay, then?” he laughs a little because of course, they’re all biased fans and he asked for it on his birthday, but it’s still reaffirming. “mmm, it still felt a bit refreshing and funky like convex, too. so i think there can be a middle ground,” he says, as if simply imagining how things could evolve in the future. “something smooth like that stage?”

something smooth. jinwook’s thinking of crazy in love, specifically, but the title song itself is an even bigger departure from their pretty u sound and aesthetic. “ah..” he shakes his head with a sheepish grin, “i think i’m rambling a lot.” jinwook takes a dramatic deep breath and collects his thoughts.

then he shifts away from the tablet to pull up the guitar in his lap. “i wanted to answer a lot of messages, but i actually prepared a song for you, too.” he strums a bright chord for emphasis. “it’s nothing fancy but i thought consta would maybe enjoy something like this. so i don’t have to sing happy birthday to myself, or anything,” he jokes.

🎵  :  heartz / minhee&luda — i’ll be there

“this is one of my favorite songs recently! i thought it would be nice for our fans, too.” it’d been an easy choice when jinwook was preparing for this stream. it’s a recent sphere release, plus he’s been listening to and singing the song since it came out, so he already knew most of the words. still, jinwook pulls up the lyrics on the tablet just in case. since he frames it as a fan song, there’s no need to change the gendered parts, although he doesn’t think he would have bothered, either way. 

jinwook only slows the tempo and lowers the key slightly to fit his guitar and his voice. the song has a different energy with an acoustic guitar instead of the bouncy synths, but it’s just as sweet and upbeat. he takes his time, singing all the way through both verses and two choruses. 

just before the bridge, jinwook trails off with a little smile. “ah, i just practiced up until here so far...” he keeps strumming idly as he leans over the tablet again. the comments flood with cheers that jinwook only can read some pieces of. it feels good, though, and jinwook feels confident about the vibe.

he watches several prying questions about heartz fly by in response, and carefully doesn’t acknowledge any of them. “of course i’ve been cheering for heartz,” is all he says. “i really liked around you and vivid also! and i’m excited for the next singles released this week, too.”

💬  :  please a convex song next!!

“oh,” he says, “a convex song?” jinwook takes a break, first, to roll out his wrists. then he hums in thought, searching for something he could play on the spot. “do you remember this one?”

🎵  :  convex — 20

he transitions into a familiar guitar intro. long-time fans might recognize it as the vocal unit song from convex’s debut album, but jinwook is pleased to introduce it to anyone else who’s unfamiliar. personally, he thinks it has held up pretty well over the past two years. “shh—” he mimics the sharp first line, then smiles as he continues strumming and begins to sing.

the song proves difficult to solo, and jinwook wishes he’d thought to prepare more material ahead of time. a medley could’ve been nice, but with all of the comeback preparations going on..... instead jinwook giggles as he trips over the lyrics, attempting the first verse’s backing and lead vocals both together. “hm..” he mumbles, glancing up at the camera. he casually redoes the section to make a decent recovery, and the chorus soars as intended. 

“ah...” says jinwook wistfully after he eases to a stop, “i’ll have to come back to that one someday. that one is nice to sing to consta, too. i always liked the lyrics a lot. you’re my twenties~”

he taps his fingers against the body of the guitar and is reminded of the special day. “but today my twenties are officially half-over, aren’t they? wah... scary....”

twenty-five. he stares blankly toward the tablet, thinking he should follow up: then i’ll just spend the second half of my twenties with consta!

these days, though, it feels like an unfair promise to make.

💬  :  like a gorilla like a gorilla!

his eye catches on one of the suggestions breezing down the chat window, and it interrupts his brooding with a burst of laughter. “gorilla? de:code’s gorilla?” he repeats. he tries a few chords but they’re not in the right key, and jinwook grins as he puts away his guitar on its stand. “i don’t know, that one would be an interesting acoustic cover.” he sings a little phrase of it anyway, a random adlib from the ending: “girl you make me feel~!”

“but!” he points a finger at the camera, not wanting his opinions to be twisted. “maybe one day i could cover their song beautiful, or i’m fine from predebut!”

💬  :  what are you listening to recently?

“hmm... what is new?” jinwook absently adjusts his elastic party hat elastic and pulls out his phone. “i like lee hi’s holo! per_se have a nice summer album.. with o sole mio, and of course...” jinwook hits a pretty falsetto as he opens the music app: “this is how i feel about you, twilight~”

“it’s like twilight, yeah~” he flicks through his playlist and wonders if he should just share screenshots of the whole thing on fancafe. “ah, and eclipse’s comeback!” he adds. “look, isn’t the album cover pretty?” his screen is probably illegible, when he holds it up close to show the camera, but at least his enthusiasm is clear. “i like their night side the best, with that unique rock sound...” jinwook pauses, and reconsiders. “actually, navillera was totally my style, too.” he shakes his head and grins. “eclipse is definitely cool no matter what.”

💬  :  it is already 4 in the morning here why 😭

english. jinwook has glazed over every message in foreign languages but he laughs at this one. he trips over a stilted reading of the comment, and quickly switches back to korean to answer. “i’m sorry ahh, next time i have to think of different timezones, right?” he tilts his head. “mm, it seems impossible to find a good time for everyone all around the world? but i’m happy you could visit with me for even a little bit. please make sure to rest well~” as an afterthought, he finishes in english: “and goodnight~”

💬  :  can you show a rap verse? 

“rapping?” jinwook’s eyes light up at the suggestion, and he laughs out loud. “can i tell a secret?” it’s not the right question to ask, judging by the staff’s reaction. but jinwook leans in sneakily, and continues despite their concerned looks. “we tried to switch parts for adore u once, so i learned seungcheol’s rap! that choi seungcheol,” he says with a grin, “has pretty good expressions on stage these days... his parts are fun! i like practicing his pretty u verse, too.”

he tells the story casually, although that part switch was not just boredom in the practice rooms, but an official planned anniversary release. that weekend in incheon is still a fond memory despite the disappointment of never getting to see the final edit.

he rolls his shoulders. “anyway, i don’t have the nice low voice for it, but there is a little melody to his parts a lot of the time...” jinwook postures up for full effect and puts on his best rapper expression. “how can you dazzle so much? you’re so pretty it’s—”

it’s probably for the best that he is interrupted by a loud knock and a rowdy chorus of happy birthday starting right outside the door.

➡️  :  continued in part two...

#& sns #&& vlive #rkvlive #& solo #&& 07.20 #wc / 2500

[calpalirwin]

Mixtapes

Summary: You were just a seventeen year old girl with an incredible knack for learning when you crashed into Ashton Irwin. It was hard for him not to fall for a girl who was as phenomenal as you were and it was hard for you not to fall for a man who thought you were so much more than a girl four and half years his junior. Maybe age really was just a number. After all, you wouldn’t be seventeen forever.

A/N: @carebearofriddles​ shared this lovely idea with me, so I’ve been happily bringing this to life (she has the BEST ideas y’all!). It’s a longer blurb, but I hope you’ll enjoy reading it all the same.

And away, and away we go!

~~~

“Focus, Y/N,” your coach told you from behind the batting cage. “Breathe in, out, swing. You got this.”

You nodded your head, your cleats digging into the dirt as you adjusted your feet ever so slightly. Your loosened and tightened your grip on your bat, looking for that sweet spot. Your gaze shifted to the scout manning the pitching machine. This is it, Y/N, don’t blow it. You took in a slow breathe. “Pitch,” you instructed. You let out your breath as the ball came flying at you. Muscle memory took over as your bat left your shoulder, your body pivoted, and the ball clanged off your bat and soared into the back off the batting cage, rattling the fence when it stuck.

“Dang,” the scout whistled. “How old are you, again?”

“17,” you beamed proudly.

“Welcome to the USA Olympic Softball team, Y/N. We’re happy to have you.”

~~~

You couldn’t stop grinning. You had been playing softball since you were old enough to swing a bat. You were graduating high school next month- a year early- and were already accepted to your local state university to their psychology program and their softball team. And now, you’d be training to go play in the summer Olympics next year. Life, you decided, was pretty damn sweet.

To channel the euphoric emotions coursing through you, after a shower and change of clothes, you set out to create a musical piece.

It wasn’t much, as you never put lyrics in your pieces, choosing to let the music speak for itself in it’s raw and unaltered form. You had been playing instruments almost as long as you had been playing softball. Piano you had picked up first, courtesy of a Christmas gift for piano lessons. Drums you had learned shortly after, when you got caught pounding on your older brother’s kit and instead of pounding you, he taught you. Bass had been a recent acquisition, this time thanks to your softball coach who took an interest in your interests off the field.

Your apparent genius had a name: Savant Syndrome. And while it earned you more than your fair share of stares and whispers, you were humble. While your ability certainly gave you an edge, no one could deny how hard you worked to be at the top of your game. Gifted or not, you worked just as hard, if not harder, than anybody else. And it was paying off in ways you had only dreamed about.

~~~

Your announcement of punching your ticket to the Olympics quickly threw you into the spotlight.

“So, Y/N, you are 17, is that correct?” the interviewer asked you.

You nodded. “Yes.”

“And you’re starting at your local university here in a few months, yes?”

Again, you nodded. “Yeah, I graduated high school back in June, so I’ll be attending the local university here in another month.”

“Congratulations. What will you be studying?”

“Psychology.”

“And is it safe to assume you’ll be playing softball?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“So, Y/N. You’re a 17 year old girl. What do you do when you’re not playing softball? Mall with your friends? Dating?”

You laughed. “Yeah, I hang out with my friends. But, in my spare time, I like to make music.”

“So, no boyfriend, then?”

You laughed again, not sure what else to do. Was this going to be your life? Dodging questions about your dating life, or lack thereof? “I’m a little busy for that. The music keeps me pretty busy.”

“Music? I thought you played softball?”

You held back an eye roll. Did interviewers even listen if it wasn’t the answer they wanted to hear? “I do a lot more than just play softball,” you answered, getting a little annoyed now.

“Like what?”

You were going to scream. Instead, you forced a smile. “I make music. I study for classes. I hang out with my family and friends. I just keep my head down and keep busy.”

~~~

“That was such bullshit,” you growled at your coach after the interview was over.

“I know, Y/N, but you did great. You kept a cool head.”

“Is that what I have to look forward to? Questions about boys and dating?”

“You’re a pretty teenage girl, Y/N. So, unfortunately yes.”

“That’s bullshit…”

“I know. Go channel it.”

So you did, in the form of a drum heavy, pissed off, 8 minute rant.

~~~

“Oh, my bad!” you apologized as you stopped in your tracks, after almost colliding with the tall man in front of you. You looked up and your eyes locked on a hazel gaze underneath a cloud of long brown curls. You knew exactly who this was. “Holy shit… you’re…” you breathed.

“You good?” Ashton Irwin asked, nodding at the stain seeping into your shirt, from your knocked over drink.

You looked down at your shirt. “Oh, yeah,” you laughed nervously. “Only water. Is your beer okay?”

“No harm, no foul,” he said. “Can I buy you a new water?”

“Oh, you don’t have to,” you brushed him off.

“Nah, it’s my fault you’re wearing your drink. I wasn’t looking where I was walking.”

“It’s okay, honestly,” you assured him.

“I won’t take no for an answer, Y/N,” he smiled, his dimple showing, and you felt your heart race in your chest. Ashton Irwin wanted to buy you a new water and he knew who you were? Wow…

“You… you know who I am?” you asked as you walked faster to keep up with his long strides as he went in search of a drink stand.

“Course I do. Big fan of the Olympics.”

“I haven’t even gone yet.”

“I know. I like to keep updated on who’s going. Word on the street is, you’re gonna win your team the gold. Powerful swing, fast feet, quicker hands. Phew, you’re dangerous, sweetheart.”

“I’m not that good,” you mumbled as your cheeks flushed.

“Aw, she’s modest, too,” he grinned. “You’re phenomenal. Don’t let anyone tell you any different. 1 water please.”

Your cheeks flushed a deeper red as he handed you the water bottle. “Thanks.”

“See you around, Y/N,” he winked, placing a hand on your shoulder before disappearing in the crowd.

You took a drink of your water. What the hell had just happened?

~~~

Good luck, Y/N! your phone pinged.

Ash? How did you know I was playing today? you messaged back, holding back a grin. He had messaged you for the first time shortly after your run-in, and he messaged you at least once a day either to wish you luck or to remind you that you were phenomenal. You had already written 2 songs about him. Lovestruck ones about how sweet he was, and how it could never happen because you were 17, and he had just turned 22.

Gotta keep tabs on my favorite girl.

Your face flushed. Ash, you really shouldn’t say things like that.

But it’s true. Let me take you out for coffee when you get home. I miss you.

Ash, you barely know me.

Bullshit. We’re famous, sweetheart. Everybody knows us.

~~~

“Stop!” you giggled, throwing a straw wrapper at him.

“What you did! You were phenomenal out there. As always.”

You kept giggling. You had been friends with Ashton for almost 8 months now. Friends as your age gap was still a big concern for you. But, there was no denying the chemistry that was between the two of you. “I’m really not.”

“Hey! What did I tell you? You are phenomenal. Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise. That includes you.”

“But if I do that, then I won’t have you to remind me,” you smiled over at him.

“Oh, I’ll always remind you. Don’t worry about that.”

“Promise?”

“Promise,” he said, then his lips were on yours. A brief, soft kiss. You were about to melt into it, but your brain screaming at you that this was wrong was too much to ignore.

“No!” you gasped, pulling away. “Ash, no… Don’t do that…”

“What? Don’t kiss you? Y/N, do you know how long I’ve been waiting to do that?”

“Ash… I’m… you’re… we’re…”

“You turned 18 yesterday,” he reminded you.

“You’re still way older than me! This… this… no. No, Ash.”

“Really? You’re still gonna pull the age-gap card? You’re 18! And don’t you dare sit there and say you haven’t been thinking about kissing me.”

You opened your mouth to protest, but he was right. Of course you had thought about kissing him. You had 7 songs sitting on your computer that were all about him and wanting to kiss him. Songs he would never hear. “Ash, we live totally different lives. We can’t do this.”

“Different lives? Yes, okay. You’re in college, and I’m a rockstar. Sure. But we’re both in the public eye. We’re still really good friends. Friends who have more than friends feelings towards each other.”

“No!”

He sighed. “Alright. Fine.”

After that encounter you had 8 songs about him.

~~~

“Move in with me.”

“What?!”

“Move. In. With. Me.”

“Ash!”

“Y/N!”

“I can’t just move in with you!”

“Yes you can! You’re going to be a sophomore in college, you can’t possibly like staying in that crapped dorm. I have plenty of room at my place. Plenty of privacy, too, as I’m hardly ever home.”

“I’m not dating you, Ashton.”

“I’m not asking you to, Y/N.”

“Good. As long as we both know that I’m moving in as a friend.”

He put up his hands in surrender. “Just friends.”

Your eyes narrowed at your “friend” and his hazel eyes that were full of trouble. “Fine. I’ll move in with you.”

“Great! I’ll help you pack.”

~~~

“No! I’m not ready! Can’t you understand that!” you screamed at Ashton.

“This is bullshit! You’re 20 years old, Y/N! We’re not those same kids from 2 and a half years ago! Nobody cares about the stupid age gap!” he screamed back, his eyes shining with tears.

“I do! I care! I just turned 20! You’re gonna be 25! That’s a huge difference!”

“No, it isn’t! Not to me anyway!”

“Well, good for you!”

“I can’t do this… God, I can’t keep doing this! Grow up, Y/N.” He grabbed his jacket and stormed towards the front door.

“What?! You’re just gonna leave?! Ashton, get back here!”

“I need to get to the studio, Y/N,” he said, his voice suddenly soft. “We can talk more when I get back, but honestly, I don’t know if I’m going to want to. I just… I need space. Hell, maybe we both do.” And with that, you were left alone in your shared home, wondering if it was even yours anymore. You were losing him, as a roommate, as a friend, as a potential lover, and for what? For being too afraid of your feelings? No, that wasn’t good enough. Ashton was right. It was time to grow up and stop being a scared little kid. You were phenomenal and it was time to start acting like it. So, you did what you did best. You created music. And this time, he was going to hear you.

Your fingers shook as you typed out the message.

If you show this to anyone, I’m moving out, and you’ll never hear from me again. It’s called You, Me, Us.

Before you could overthink, you attached the audio file and hit send. “Please don’t break my heart,” you whispered before shutting off your phone, terrified of the response.

Ashton’s phone pinged and he was grateful for the interruption. They were stuck on making the last song for the album and nothing they were making seemed like it was good enough. When he saw the notification was from you, he grabbed his headphones and excused himself into a different room.

He read the message first, his heart soaring. He knew how private you kept your music, never letting him so much as catch you doing something as simple as playing. Music was the one thing you had always kept just for yourself. He hit play on the 9 minute audio clip, your voice sounding out, “Alright, Ash… this has been a long time coming, but uh.. Yeah. Here it goes.” The clip was bass heavy, a drum beat looping on repeat, a little upbeat feel from the piano kicking in throughout.

If his heart had soared at your message, it ripped out of his chest with your music. A wordless melody that expressed 2 and a half years worth of emotion you felt towards one man- him. He scrambled around for loose pieces of paper, penning out a response as he hit repeat.

He was on his third listen, his response nearly complete when Calum’s “There you are, mate! We’ve been looking all over for you,” startled him.

“Jesus, Cal!” he exclaimed, a hand flying to his chest, hitting pause and slipping his headphones around his neck. “Damn near gave me a heart attack…”

“Were you crying? You okay?”

Ashton touched a hand to his face, his cheeks wet. Shit, he didn’t even notice, he had been so lost. Ashton sniffed and wiped at his face. “Yeah, I’m good, mate. I think.”

Calum raised an eyebrow, not sure what to believe, so he just dropped it in favor of wondering what his friend had been up to. “What’s this?” he asked, his Vans tapping lightly against the thrown about papers.

“Our last song,” Ashton grinned.

Calum picked up one of the pieces, scanning the title. “Part 2? When did we write Part 1?”

“We didn’t. She did.”

“Oh, shit…” Calum breathed, realizing the weight of the situation. “C’mon, let’s get this recorded for her.”

“Mike, you ready for a solo?” Ashton asked, once he and Calum went into the other room where Luke and Mike were in the midst of a guitar riff-off.

Mike’s note came to a definitive finish. “Solo?”

Ashton nodded, waving the lyrics in his hand. He would sing it himself, but his solo songs didn’t lend themselves well to being added to setlists and this was definitely one he wanted to play on tour. And he knew Mike would be able to get the emotion he needed and deserved a song on the album to showcase more than his incredible guitar playing, even if the man didn’t agree he had the best singing voice. “I only got the words, but I figure we can pair it with some heavy drums, a bitchin bass line, and some piano work. What do you guys say?”

“I say let’s make a hit!” Luke said, excited to have something to work with.

An hour later the four men sat around booth while their song played out around them, grins on their faces. “We gotta make this a single,” Luke said.

“Oh, yeah,” Mike agreed.

“Y/N gets writing credit,” Ashton told them.

“What? She didn’t write this. She’s not even here,” Mike laughed.

“She doesn’t even go here!” Luke added with a laugh of his own.

“Quit quoting Mean Girls,” Calum said with an eye roll. “You idiots do know that this title has Part 2 in it right? Y/N gets credit.”

“Shit, she wrote part 1? Where is it?” Mike asked, his green eyes wide in excitement.

“Not a chance, Mikey. Y/N trusted me that nobody besides me would hear Part 1. Now, get that on a CD for me so I can go home to my girl.”

“Your girl? What? Are you guys finally dating?!” Mike asked, his fingers inching towards Ashton’s phone.

“I dunno, mate, but I’m gonna try,” Ashton told him, moving his phone away from Mike’s hands. “Now, give her writing credit. Put it on the album. Release it as a single. And give me my damn song.”

“I thought it was Y/N’s song,” Luke teased.

“It’s our song,” he corrected, meaning Y/N and himself. Then, “Mikey, so help me God, I will break your fingers if you so much as look at my phone. No one is hearing that song.”

His hand dropped. “But… I need Part 1 to know how to sing Part 2!”

“You sang it fine, mate. Touch the phone, and I’ll break every bone in your damn hands. Are we all in agreement? This song wouldn’t exist without her.”

“Yeah, mate. Single. Album. Writing credit. Here’s her song. Go get your woman,” Calum said, tossing Ashton the CD.

“Let me hear the song!” Mike screamed after the older man as Ashton grabbed his jacket and headed for the door.

“I mean it, Mike. Hands. Broken. Nobody hears Part 1 but Y/N and me.”

~~~

“Y/N? Are you home?” Ashton’s voice called throughout the house. His hand clutched around the CD case, shaking with his nerves. When he didn’t hear you, he went searching, scared he wouldn’t find you, that you had left anyway after your fight earlier that morning. “Y/N,” he breathed, sighing in relief as he found you on your bedroom floor, a suitcase open.

Tears where in your eyes, and you didn’t dare look at him, for fear of crying again. You had been crying all day. “I’ll be done in a minute,” you sniffed.

He crossed the room to you and wrapped you in his arms. “What are you doing, gorgeous girl?” he whispered.

“Giving you your space,” you whispered back, still refusing to look at him. “God, I’m such an idiot…”

“Y/N, you are the smartest person I know. Now, slow down a second. What’s wrong?”

“Everything!” you screamed suddenly, your composure shattering into a million pieces. Why did it feel like he was holding you together? Why did you like it so much? Why were you so in love with a man you could never have? Why was he in love with a stupid kid? “Let me go!”

His response was to hold you tighter as you thrashed against him. “Y/N, stop,” his voice urged. “You’re gonna hurt yourself, baby.”

“I don’t care!” you continued to scream. “Stop calling me that! Stop calling me gorgeous! Stop calling me baby! Stop calling me phenomenal! Let me go! I don’t care!”

“No! I love you, Y/N! And I’m never letting you go.”

His words startled you. He had never said those words to you. All your fights about whether or not you should be together, and he had never said those words. “You what?”

“I love you, Y/N,” he repeated, before crushing his lips to yours.

This time, when you melted into him, the nagging voice telling you this was wrong stayed silent. Your arms wrapped around his neck, holding him to you, as his arms held you tightly, both of you a tangled puddle on your bedroom floor. “I love you too, Ash,” you said when the kiss finally broke, breathless, your lips tingling.

“Good. I have something for you,” he said, getting up and putting the CD into your stereo.

“You wrote me a song?”

“Call it Part 2,” he smiled before he hit play and left the room for you to enjoy the next 3 minutes and 3 seconds in peace.

You were crying before Mike even started singing. By the time the verse hit, you were dancing, the tears falling freely down your face. By the time the song ended, you had no doubt in your mind that you were going to be love with Ashton Irwin for as long as the world kept on spinning.

You went to start the song over, but clapped your hand over your mouth instead. Only Mike’s voice was singing the song, with only Ashton’s voice harmonizing in the background. Mike had done a fabulous job, but in order to the song justice, he deserved to hear Part 1. Which meant you had to share the most vulnerable part of you with someone who wasn’t Ashton. “Oh, no…”

“What? What’s wrong?” Ashton said, sticking his head in, worry written all over his face.

“It’s beautiful,” you told him, throwing your arms around him.

“So, why are you crying then?”

“I have to let Mikey hear Part 1.”

“I, uh… I might have…”

“Ashton!” you growled. “I trusted you!”

“And I didn’t show him! I told him I’d break his fingers if he so much as looked at my phone! I don’t think he’s gonna want to listen cuz of that.”

“Call him over. Tell him I said he needs to hear Part 1, and that his hands are safe.”

~~~

“We need to get to the studio,” Mike said, after listening to Part 1. “Now.”

“Now?” both you and Ashton asked him, bewildered.

“Yes! I can sing this so much better now that I know the emotion behind it! We can’t put the original on our album now!”

“You’re gonna put this on the album?” you squeaked.

“Giving you writing credit, too,” Mike winked at you.

“What? No… No!”

Ashton laughed and twirled you in a circle. “Yes, and yes! The world deserves to know your brilliance, you phenomenal woman!”

“Well, go record the new version, then,” you laughed with him.

“Hey, Y/N, you got any other great hits like that one that we can have Ash write responses to?”

“You’ll never know,” you winked. In truth, you had enough for a whole album yourself. “Oh, and Mikey?”

“Yeah?”

“Nobody finds out that you listened to Part 1.”

“Your secret’s safe with me.”

“I mean it, Mikey. I’d hate for Ash to break those talented fingers of yours.”

His hands went behind his back. “Trust me, I know all about wanting to keep your private life private.”

~~~

“We already recorded it!” Calum groaned. It was 2 am by the time all four men were back in the studio.

“But, I had an epiphany! I know I can sing this song better. I know it!” Mike said.

“Ash,” both Calum and Luke looked at Ashton, begging the oldest for help.

Ashton shrugged. “He’s the one singing it. If he wants to tweak it, that’s his choice.”

“I hate this band…” Luke pouted, sitting down at the piano.

~~~

“So, this song, it’s actually Part 2? Which begs the question, where’s Part 1?” Zach Sang asked.

Ashton laughed. He had been dodging this question in every interview on this press tour. But, you had finally given the okay to reveal the truth, even share Part 1 because you wanted the world to know the whole story and Zach Sang’s interview was the best place as he was an interviewer who actually gave a shit about their art, rather than their personal lives. “It’s a bit of a story,” Ashton continued to chuckle.

“Well, by all means, let’s hear it.”

“So, Y/N and I… we met a few years ago at a music festival. And uh… well, it’s hard not to like that woman, lemme tell ya. She’s phenomenal. Anyway, she was only seventeen back then. So we were just friends, for a long time. And, uh… eventually, when she got older, I asked her to move in with me, as friends. Anyway, jumping ahead, we got in a fight the morning I wrote this song. I’ve never hid my affection for her, and I was getting more than a little mad she wasn’t willing to reciprocate, especially since our age gap isn’t as big a deal now that she’s twenty. And I left for the studio, midfight basically. And we were struggling with this album. I mean, we’ve been working hard, but it was missing something, and we couldn’t figure it out. But then, Y/N sent me Part 1. Being a musician is something she’s always kept very private, so I quickly hid out in another room to listen to it because, my God, she was finally trusting me to listen to her stuff. And like not even 2 hours later we had my response.”

“But Mikey sings it?”

“Yeah. I did it that way on purpose. I want to be able to play this song when we tour, so I can’t really be the one singing it.”

“So, how did you record Part 2 then, if no one’s heard Part 1 besides you?”

“Oh, we re-recorded it after I heard it,” Mike piped up.

Calum, Luke, and Zach all looked at Mike with wide eyes. “You heard it?”

Mike nodded. “Yeah, it’s fantastic. Can we play it?”

“You have Part 1?” Zach asked, excitedly.

Ashton nodded and pulled out his phone. “Y/N wanted me to share it here on your show. Both parts, one right after the other, the full story. It’s long.”

Zach just smiled. “Alright, let’s hear this love story, folks. You, Me, Us Parts 1 and 2, coming at you live from the Zach Sang Show.”

~~~

“Here,” you said, placing a cassette player in Ashton’s hands.

“I don’t have any tapes, gorgeous,” he smiled at you.

“Yes you do,” you told him, tapping the cassette player. “Don’t lose it.”

“Are these your songs?”

You nodded. “There’s only 4, but they’re long. Mikey helped me.”

He pulled you in for a tight hug, covering the top of your head in kisses. “I’ll protect it with my life,” he promised.

~~~

“Baby!” Ashton voice said, laced with panic.

“What?!”

“I need a new tape!”

“What?!”

“The tape! I played it too much! The songs! Baby!” His voice was high and there were tears in his eyes. “I said I would protect it, and it broke! Please! My favorite song!” he continued to panic.

“Hey, relax,” you soothed. “It’s okay.”

“No it’s not! I said I would protect it, and it broke! Stupid antique junk!”

“Ash! Stop. Look,” you said, flashing a new tape. “I’ll overnight it, okay? Just breathe.”

“I’m so sorry…”

“It’s okay,” you smiled at him. The fact that he had played it so much he wore out the tape meant the world to you. You would make him a billion copies if he played each one to their breaking point. “One mixtape straight out of ‘94 heading your way.”

“You were born in ‘99…”

“And the man behind the music is a product of ‘94,” you smiled. “It’ll be there soon, Ash. Don’t worry. I love you.”

“I love you too. And I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. It’s just a tape.”

“No it’s not. It’s our tape.”

~~~

Before he left for his World Way Joy tour, you gave him another tape. “Don’t break this one,” you teased.

“Not funny!”

“It’s a little funny,” you laughed.

“It’s not funny… I was very careful with it…”

“It’s true,” Mike piped up, overhearing the conversation.

“He doesn’t go anywhere without that damn hunk of junk,” Calum scoffed.

“It’s vintage!” Ashton hissed playfully.

“It’s obsolete, mate. Just put those suckers on Spotify, Y/N.”

“Never!” you smiled, hugging Calum goodbye. “Take care of him for me.”

“Always, Y/N, always.”

~~~

When Ashton finally came home, after both the tour and spending the holidays with his family, he was restless.

You rolled over in bed to find it empty. You squinted as you checked the time: 2:13 am. Where the hell is he? you wondered as you got out of bed to search for him.

You found him in the backyard, guitar strumming softly, a cup of coffee on the patio table. “Ash,” you whispered, pulling the blanket tightly around you. “Do you have any idea what time it is?”

“Late?”

“Very… is that coffee?”

“It’s decaf…”

“Come to bed.”

“Can’t sleep.”

“Can’t sleep? Ash, you need to try. Rest your body at least.” Now you were worried. You had noticed the dark circles under his eyes when he came home earlier that afternoon, but you had expected the man to sleep soundly for several hours, not be wide awake at 2 in the morning. This, you decided, was very bad.

“Not. Tired,” came the response and a pluck of guitar strings.

You sighed, but decided not to say anything. Ashton was a grown man and he wouldn’t appreciate you babying him. Instead, you had an idea.

You worked relentlessly on the project, using the research of you thesis project to help you, keeping late hours yourself. Ashton was worried you were pushing yourself too hard, but he also kept his mouth shut. You weren’t giving him shit about his insomnia, so he wasn’t going to give you shit for yours. Instead, he got interested in what his girlfriend was up to.

“Whatcha doing?” he asked, wrapping his arms around you.

Your head snapped up. “Thesis,” you said, pulling out of his arms and out of your seat in front of the keyboard.

“Your thesis has you making music?”

An idea formed in your head. “Yeah,” you said, leading him to the bedroom. “It’s crazy what music does to brain waves, Ash.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah. It’s like a drug, almost,” you explained, pulling him into bed.

“Mmm, fascinating,” he smiled at you. He loved when your smart side showed in full force even though he had no idea what you were talking about half the time.

“Yeah,” you smiled back, running your hands through his hair. “So, we already know how music makes people feel. There’s this study where they tested the idea of music being therapeutic. What they did is they did a series of surgeries, already planned surgeries, mind you. But they did these surgeries. Some with music playing, some without. And what they noticed was incredible!” you were whispering now as his eyelids drooped lower and lower.

“Mmm, incredible, yeah,” he mumbled.

“Yeah, it’s incredible. And what they realized was that the patients who listened to the music, even though they had no memory of it, they had faster recovery times. And like they mapped how their brains reacted to different kinds of music. And like, that’s what I’m doing! Like what type of music causes our brain waves to do this instead of that type of stuff. God, Ash, it’s so cool!”

“Mmm, very,” he mumbled again, then let out a small snore.

You grinned to yourself. Finally, Ashton was asleep. Now, you just had to find a way to make him sleep like this without boring him to death with research and science. You were almost there. You just needed to run the tests to make sure you could record the perfect lullaby.

~~~

“Here!” you grinned, handing him the tape before he left for his No Shame tour.

“How many tapes do you have, gorgeous?” he laughed, taking the tape anyway.

“Last one, I promise,” you told him. “Just listen to it when you go to bed, okay?”

“Okay,” he told you.

Later that night, he crawled into his bunk on the tour bus, put in the tape, secured his headphones, and hit play. In 5 minutes, he was in the deepest sleep of his life.

“Baby, I don’t know what type of superpowers you put in that last tape, but I swear I haven’t been able to finish it.”

You grinned. Your research had paid off. You had created the perfect lullaby. “Good!”

“No, not good. I want to finish it. I want to hear your music. But every time I’m out like a light. I dunno what it is.”

“It’s the music,” you continued to grin. “Brain waves. Science!” You were laughing now and wiggling your fingers like magic. “The power of sleep compels you!”

He laughed with you. “Thanks baby. I don’t think I’ve ever slept better.”

~~~

“So my last thing… and this counts as 1 thing!” Ashton laughed, pulling out the tape player and 3 cassettes. “This… wow, I never go anywhere without this. Tour, grocery shopping, anywhere.”

“Tell us what it is, Ash,” Calum said from behind the camera.

“Right! It’s uh… it’s a tape player that plays my 3 favorite tapes.”

“What are the tapes?” Mike boomed from behind the camera.

“I’m getting there!” Ashton laughed. “So, my phenomenal girlfriend made me these tapes. And I carry them with me everywhere.”

“He even showers with them,” Luke said, stepping into view.

“I do not!” Ashton protested.

“What’s on the tapes?” Mike asked.

“It’s porn, Mikey,” Calum said.

“Shut up, and let me talk, or get off the set,” Ashton laughed.

“Yeah, let him finish!” Luke said.

“LeT mE fInIsH!” Calum and Mike taunted.

“Anyway…” Ashton said, waving the tapes. “Not porn. My phenomenal girlfriend decided to share her music with me. And because she’s very private about her music, I promised to protect them.”

“It’s cuz it’s porn!” Calum whisper-yelled.

“Is not!”

“Oh, just tell ‘em how you broke one already,” Mike said.

“Right! So… uh, one of these, this one,” he said, waving the tape for emphasis, “is not the original. I played it so much in those first few days I actually broke it. And I called her in a panic to ask for a new one because my favorite song was on it. Still is my favorite. You might’ve heard it. It’s Part 1 of Me, You, Us. Anyway, now I only play the tapes once a day. And, uh, yeah, those are my 5 must haves on tour. I’m Ashton Irwin, thanks.”

“Wait, is that why you’ve been wearing jumpsuits in this era? All those pockets to hold them tapes?” Luke asked, coming back on screen.

“As a matter of fact, it is. If the tapes aren’t physically on me, they’re in a bag by my feet. Always in my line of sight and close to my heart. Y/N, I love you gorgeous. Your tapes are safe with me, baby. I promise. And again, I’m Ashton Irwin, and this has been 5 Things with 5SOS. See you all at the Tokyo Olympics where I’ll be cheering my phenomenal girlfriend as she makes her second debut as shortstop for America’s softball team. Did I mention she was phenomenal? And my girlfriend? Cuz she is!”

#mixtapes #ashton irwin #ashton blurb #5sos #galcal irwin #wow this was so fun to write! #thanks kerry for the idea! #happy reading!

[neckcan55-blog]

Points for Beginners Before Trying Ultra Fast Keto Boost

The Comprehensive Ultra Fast Keto Boost Review- Read this evaluate before making an attempt the ketogenic food plan. Some sufferers might need to supplement with sodium, as long as they don't have blood strain points. Some might even need prescription potassium supplementation,” Rahnama said, including that she begins all keto food plan patients on a magnesium complement, because it's an electrolyte that can be taken with low risk of overdose. She also mentioned keto dieters might have to up their carb intake if they have continued issues with hydration. No. These weight loss capsules do not cause any unwanted effects as a result of they are formulated as such. Extremely Quick Keto Boost is a significantly better various to most weight loss treatments just because it doesn't harm the body. Since a ketogenic eating regimen ultra fast keto reviews is sort of powerful and takes a lot of time to ship substantial outcomes, these capsules are finest suited for many who don't wish to comply with a keto food plan strictly. In the end, I'm happy with my keto weight loss program outcomes each internally and externally. I lost four pounds in two weeks, gained some energy and efficiency with my coaching, and more often than not felt that I may see higher muscle tone as an alternative of feeling bloated or weighed down. While the ketogenic eating regimen might not be my go-to frequently, Dr. Axe's ultimate feedback was encouraging: He says because I've now had a profitable keto trial run, if I needed to cycle via some keto weeks (or perhaps a month, subsequent time), I'd be able to easily, doubtlessly reaching ketosis much more shortly. While going full-drive back on the carbs may derail me or anyone else who wants to keto-cycle, Dr. Axe says the percentages are in my favor. "Ninety % of the time if someone's achieved it as soon as, they may get into ketosis faster and easier the following time," he says. Plus, it is not like I couldn't feed my physique something until midday. Low-carb keto drinks such as tea, water, and low had been all choices, and Dr. Axe suggested including protein (resembling his bone broth or collagen protein powders) to my liquids to help fend off hunger. So, throughout my two weeks, I experimented with Dr. Axe's bone broth protein and collagen protein, in addition to unsweetened nondairy milks resembling almond and oat milk. I am going to reduce to the chase on this one: Whereas professional opinion is combined on the bioavailability of collagen powder and its potential health benefits , through trial and error, I landed on espresso with oat milk and collagen peptides as my go-to morning brew. I additionally took some of Dr. Axe's Keto Fire supplements in the morning. They contain exogenous ketones, which is a elaborate way of claiming bonus ketones my body does not produce on its own. This product is to not be bought on any local medical stores. So, to buy it it's a must to go to the official web site of Ultra Fast Keto Boost Below, we have now supplied a hyperlink to its web site. You possibly can click on on this hyperlink to position your online order and likewise to learn all the terms and circumstances of using and buying this merchandise. The manufacturers of this product are offering a free trial provide to its first-time patrons. However, it's good to click on on this hyperlink now as this supply may not final for long.

Incredible Recommendations to Make Your Diet Fat Burner Fast

UltraFast Keto Increase is offered in a bottle containing 60 dietary drugs. You're purported to eat 2 tablets a day. You must full the full course without any skip in its dosage to get efficient results on time. Avoid consuming them in an empty abdomen and follow a keto-pleasant weight-reduction plan and go for a bit train to fasten your weight reduction process. During ketosis, many parts of your physique are burning ketones for vitality instead of carbs. This contains a big part of the mind. BHB is, by far, the most well-liked ingredient for keto dieters as a result of it's so keto-specific. Ask any keto dieter what they take of their supplement, and so they'll inform you BHB. It's now evident that Ultra Fast Keto Increase is being utilized by hundreds of thousands of individuals as there are loads of optimistic opinions. Nevertheless, it is not feasible to seek out out whether or not these evaluations are genuine or not. There are few long-term studies on the keto weight-reduction plan, which may be as a result of it is difficult to follow, so individuals aren't staying on it for a long time. Moreover, it should be famous that whereas moving into ketosis has apparent advantages for some people, it is positively not for everybody. Investigating the various components recognized with Extremely Fast Keto Increase, one can say that this recipe can reveal to be helpful each time utilized appropriately. The best way to take care of use depends upon the headings given on the holder. You will see the results quickly on the off chance that you use it suitably and ordinarily.

#diet

[journarl-s]

Indonesia Open Super 1000 Final

Several weeks ago, I had a chance to see a badminton match in Istora Senayan, yes, the Indonesia Open Super 1000, and yes, it is the FINAL one.

It was such a blessing that that day, the men’s double final game was all indonesian final but, i can honestly say that i want indonesia to play against another player from another country hehe since i’ll be watching it live and the tension will be higher. Nonetheless, it was a great match though it finished too fast, i waited for a long 5 hours but they only play for half an hour lol.

Truthfully, that day’s game was no fun at all. Men’s Double All Indonesian Final, Women’s Double All Japanese Final, and Mixed Double All Chinese Final. All Indonesian Final is such a happy event but for the others were pretty boring. Thank God there was Men’s Single game.

It caught my utmost attention that day. The men’s single game was Chou Tien Chen (Chinese Taipei) VS Anders Antonsen (Denmark).

It seems that both of them having similar cute personality which is like to be appraised and to be cheered on and they showed it like a kid.

I don’t know what happened in Indonesia but Anders Antonsen always get into the upper stage of the tournament while in Indonesia, he even beat Kento Momota in Indonesia Masters this year. Thus, he also love Indonesian supporters.

As I told in the paragraph 4, they showed it a lot today. After they did warm up together, they tend to train to hit the shuttlecock although there was no shuttlecock.

Indonesian fans seems like prankster. When they hit the air, the fans were like “ea ea ea” and they enjoyed it and seems to be engrossed in it as well lmao it was like in the video above! it was so funny.

The first set won by Chou Tien Chen. It seemed like it was gonna be an easy game but turned out it was such a tight game. In near the end of the first match, Anders asked to put his head band on and suddenly Anders unleashed his power lol.

Not as easy as in the first match, the second set went much tighter than the first one. It was so intense. I wish for Chou to win but in this second game i wish it was Anders so that the game will go longer lol because it was so interesting and was such an outstanding game.

There was a little bit discomfort happened when the judge misjudged the fault, while it has to be Chou, the judge give Anders a point instead. And there was a deuce also! Second match was a nerve-wrecking game! and so Anders won the match.

Since the second match was so intense, it brought more intensity to the third set, the final match that would decide which one of them is the winner. There was a funny moment in the third set, i forgot what happened, but when Chou Tien Chen was getting ready to do service, the spectators were getting loud, and so CTC started swinging his racket as in to say “relax, relax” lol

It was a brilliant game and the third match won by Chou Tien Chen. It was a very touching moment as when the shuttlecock that Anders hit could not pass the net and so it was a game point to Chou Tien Chen, CTC straightly laying down and so Anders (it’s so cute!) And then they stood up and hug each other… what a sportmanship :“”“ and CTC was starting to tearing up :”“” it was his first title in Super 1000 match after all. I've wanted to put the video here but Tumblr is being no fun by can not editing the whatever made on tumblr app on tumblr web, and regarding the video itself, we could not upload more than one video on tumblr. Sucks.

My friend, even before the game started, said “CTC will change his shirts after every match. On the semi-finals game, he changed three times” and it was proven by CTC changing his clothes 4 times! lmao and in the end he swapped what he wore with Anders and when he got to do some champion interview, he got no shirt left!!! lol and so it was a flustering moment for him i think. He was so dumb founded and embarassed and seems to be in “don’t know what to do” moment lol so at the end he was just going to wear his towel LOL Thank God there was some random people, or was it the committee? That brought a spare shirt lmao and so the interview went smoothly.

I love how CTC likes the Indonesian Istora Stadium atmoshpere and his supporters. And i really love what he said in the press conference regarding the point misjudging. It translated on the youtube comment like this:

“I don’t get to decide if the point was won or lost, but i can choose how i respond to it, just like the people of indonesia: some may be born in poor families, others may be born rich, and although they didn’t get to choose the families they were born into, they coped with it by treating every match as a good match, every day as a good day.”

I love how wise and good personality he is and has. I especially like his coach as well. She literally run to him whenever it is mid-point interval or the match interval. I also love how supportive she is on Chou. Whenever Chou scores a point, she will express her “YES” and i really like it.

That was such an outstanding magnificent game. Both Chou Tien Chen and Anders Antonsen deserves it. Thank you for making my day. I wish you both success ahead in your career. God Bless!

*this is out of topic but:

There was Kahitna as well! i’m not a fan of them but seeing them reminds me of Bambam’s fansite who got fraud in Indonesia while she wanted to go see the GOT7’s turbulence fanmeeting in Jakarta. That day Kahitna was performing as well in the same mall and so while she was being sad, Kahitna comforted her with their voices and i am happy that she got cheered by it.

#badminton #sports

[froggydarren]

Present

Dylan O/Tyler H | PG | ~2k | AO3

Summary: Winter break is the one time where everything is silent and unmoving, unchanging. When he gets to relax and just be Tyler, be with his family.  And then a call comes in. 

A/N: Written for the @fullmoonficlet challenge - #308: amnesty (for the #50 prompt: holiday)

It's the only time when he gets to sit back, relax, do nothing for a little while. Sure, he doesn't currently have jobs lined up—didn't have any for a while—but that doesn't mean that he's free to do whatever he wants. There are auditions, photo shoots, acting and voice coaching classes that he keeps going to. And there are other things he's doing that all add up to being not only busy in general, but also barely ever at home.

And being away from home for so much of the year also means not getting to see the people he cares about.

So when it's the holidays, Tyler turns off his phone, sets his emails on vacation reply mode, and just... checks out. He's not Tyler Hoechlin, star of Teen Wolf and Supergirl, he's just... Hoech. Tyler. Uncle Ty. Whatever the name is that the people he's with choose to call him. The kids in the family barely recognize him, especially the younger ones who didn't see him enough over the past year and it hurts even though he's aware that he chose the career he has. A part of him wants to switch to something that would keep him home more, but he's at a loss for what that would be.

He loves acting, he does. He has fun with the things that it encompasses—the dressing up, the slipping into someone else's shoes, the way he gets to feel things that he normally wouldn't.

The people.

Most of all, he loves the people he gets to meet along the way. Even those whom he doesn't get to see as much as he'd love to. More so those whom he keeps in touch with no matter where life takes them.

He spends two solid days with Colton, in his new house and with no one else around. It's just before the actual holidays start and the house has long been decorated like Christmas exploded all over the place. Tyler loves it and he loves to see Colton glow with happiness again. It's been a shit year and Tyler hasn't been around as much as he should have.

"Hoech, shut up," Colton tells him when Tyler tries to apologize. "You had your own shit going on."

"Nothing as what you went through."

"Different. And some of mine worked out, in the end," Colton says, fiddling with his wedding ring. "And don't you dare feel guilty about that," he tells Tyler when he notices the way Tyler's face falls at the reminder of the wedding itself. "We're not talking about that one again."

"Fine. I'm just glad you're okay," Tyler tells him.

"Me too, man. Me too."

They're great days, full of laughter and reminiscing and talking. More talking than Tyler has done in months, because there are things he doesn't—can't—discuss with everyone and with Colton's life having gone to shit a few months ago, Tyler didn't think it right to pile on his own, relatively insignificant, issues.

When he leaves Colton's place, it's to head home to his family. That's where he spends the main part of the holidays, where he has his big dinner after the kids wake everyone up on Christmas Day to open presents. It's where he is when his private phone rings once the family has dispersed again to their own homes.

It's a phone that only very few people have the number for. Colton. Holland. Ian. A select few of the people from the movies he did. Tanner.

Dylan.

The one person who didn't get in touch in a long time. The one person who managed to flip Tyler's life around this year without even knowing he did.

"Hey," Tyler says when he picks up, quietly, trying to hide the tremble in his voice.

"Hoech."

There's a pause and Tyler wonders whether he's supposed to speak. What he's supposed to say.

"Happy holidays," Dylan says before Tyler can.

It's awkward. It's weird in a way that things never really were with Dylan. But then, everything was different until now.

"Merry Christmas," Tyler tells him. "Hope you're having a good one."

"Yeah," Dylan replies, a little too fast. "Yeah, it's cool. Mom and Dad say hi, by the way. And I'm going to see Jules for New Year's."

"That's good. Should be fun."

"Should be, yeah," Dylan agrees and Tyler can hear the deep breath that he takes. "So, how are you? Good holidays?"

"Mom and Dad's, so yeah. Busy. Noisy. More kids than last year," Tyler says with a chuckle. "It was an early morning."

"Bet it was. Part of the fun though, isn't it?"

They both go silent then, after Tyler's agreeing hum. It’s weird. He does and at the same time doesn't understand why. As far as the outside world, as far as anyone else is concerned, nothing has changed. They've gone a long time without talking before, had months when the only thing between them were random pointless text messages. There was that time when Posey called Tyler from a convention panel while Dylan was at the panel too and wasn't the one calling. Tyler remembers how odd it was—when he watched the footage later—for Dylan to blatantly lie about not having Tyler's number.

Nothing should be different. And yet, somehow, right now it is. It has been ever since Tanner sent Tyler the link to an article talking about Dylan and Britt. Ever since Tyler looked at her Instagram and confirmed that she's most definitely not with Dylan anymore. Which is something that Dylan didn't mention.

"So, uh, you think you'll be home before New Year's?"

Tyler startles a little when Dylan breaks the silence on the line. Then he hums noncommittally, not really sure if he's going to head to his place or if he's going to stay here, letting his parents fuss over him.

"I mean, I'm gonna fly out on Sunday, but...."

Dylan's pause makes Tyler want to interrupt it with something, anything, just so they don't have another awkward silence. But he has a vague idea where Dylan's train of thought is going and he doesn't want to derail it.

"If you're home, would you mind if I came over?" Dylan finally asks, the first clear thing he's said since Tyler answered his call.

At first, Tyler nods. Because of course it's okay for Dylan to visit and the answer will always be that no, he absolutely doesn't mind. Then he remembers that he's on the phone.

"I wouldn't mind at all," he says. "You know this."

"Well, yeah, but—" Dylan pauses to take a breath, "—it's been a while."

"Nothing's changed, D."

That's a lie and Tyler knows it. But it's also true in a way, because nothing has changed about his feelings for Dylan.

"Maybe it's time it did," Dylan says quietly. "Maybe..."

"Dylan?" Tyler asks when Dylan's voice fades out into silence again and stays like that for a while.

"Look. When I come over, okay? Just let me know when you'll be home. And where home is now," Dylan says, sounding like he's trying to finish the conversation. Sounding like he's avoiding a clear answer.

"Okay. Before Sunday?"

"Yeah," Dylan confirms. "Enjoy your holiday, Hoech."

Tyler returns the wish and then the call disconnects and he's left holding his phone and staring at the screen in confusion.

He doesn't get an answer to all the questions that he has for another two days. He's home then, in his own place, and he's trying not to keep checking the text message from Dylan where he said that he'd be over soon. Of course, "soon" is a very loose term considering the traffic can be crazy, especially during the holiday season. But it's been three hours and even though Dylan's house is anything but close, Tyler wonders if it means that Dylan has changed his mind about coming to visit.

Then he glances out of the window and can't help but chuckle.

Right there, in his driveway, is Dylan. Pacing. His car is parked and he's out of it, walking up and down the short pavement between the road and Tyler's house. Tyler wonders for a beat how long Dylan's been there but then he shrugs it off and heads to the front door instead.

When he opens it, Dylan looks up with a start, his eyes wide open and a little panicky.

"You gonna come in?" Tyler asks, smiling.

Dylan nods and walks over, then brushes past Tyler on the way in. The moment the door closes and Tyler turns his back to it, he has to back up right against it because Dylan's right there.

"Okay, I'm sorry. This is probably out of the blue and you maybe don't give a shit that way anyway, but..." Dylan starts rambling and his hand moves up and lands on Tyler's arm. "Look. I know you said that nothing's changed, but it has. And maybe it's too late for this, but if it's not—"

"Dylan."

Tyler's interruption makes Dylan's eyes widen even more, almost impossibly so.

"I couldn't before. Because we were never... I wasn't sure... and..."

"Dylan."

"Yes, present," Dylan says, then smirks. "I mean, I am. Present. A present. If you'd like."

His bravado is shadowed over by the way his eyes flicker from Tyler's face to the ground and then back again and the way he clenches his hands, both the one on Tyler's arm and the one by his side.

"Dylan?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you want to come over?"

Dylan bites his lip before he replies, but he stays where he is and doesn't back off.

"Look, I know this is out of left field and I have no idea if you're even interested in me that way, though I hope I didn't read things wrong and you're not going to tell me that you're not interested in guys in general, but—" Dylan pauses, takes a deep breath, then meets Tyler's eyes. "Okay. Here goes. Do you want to go for dinner with me, some day?"

He looks absolutely serious and so vulnerable that Tyler wants to wrap him in a hug and tell him it's going to be okay. He also wants to blurt out the fuck yes that immediately sprang to mind when Dylan asked. But this is them and Tyler can't help it, the corner of his mouth tugs upward as he fights back a smirk.

"D, since when do we need this much formality to go get In-n-Out?"

Dylan's face falls a fraction, but then his eyes drop to Tyler's lips and he obviously notices the smirk that Tyler has a hard time holding back, acting skills be damned.

"You asshole," Dylan says when he looks up and into Tyler's eyes again.

"I thought you'd never ask," Tyler tells him, then can't help but add more, the smirk fading away. "No, seriously. I thought you would never ask. Whether you were available or not, I didn't think I was ever an option."

"I'm not gonna lie and say you always were," Dylan admits. "Not at the start. Not when I didn't even think to look at guys that way. But you happened and I thought it was just a starstruck thing. Then it wasn't, but I was with Britt. And well, now I'm here."

Tyler smiles softly and reaches for Dylan's free hand, then holds it for a beat. He feels Dylan's fingers twitch on his arm and then sees Dylan's tongue dart out and slide over his lips.

"I don't even know if I'm not too late for this," Dylan says then, suddenly hesitant again. "Am I?"

Tyler shakes his head.

"At the risk of being accused of sappiness," he starts, then he feels his cheeks heat up. "No. Never. Not too late."

"So, uh," Dylan starts, then licks his lips again and Tyler can't help but feel his blush deepen. "Dinner? Some day soon?"

"When are you back from Julia's?" Tyler asks, thinking it's probably too soon to ask if Dylan's busy tonight.

"A few days after New Year's. But, at the risk of being accused of being too eager," Dylan says, eyes shining with glee, "are you busy tonight?"

"You mean like, since I knew you were already coming over? Have I booked something else?"

They both chuckle and Tyler links his fingers with Dylan's properly, then tugs him a little closer.

"No, I'm not too busy," he says quietly.

There is no kiss to seal the deal. Not then and not later that night either. He does get a selfie from Dylan at midnight on New Year's that makes him smile enough that Tanner badgers him until Tyler tells him about Dylan.

A kiss is the first thing that happens right after Dylan gets back from the east coast and shows up at Tyler's straight from the airport.

Tyler is just glad that he decided to cook instead of booking a place in a restaurant.

#otp: tension and the spark #p: tyler hoechlin #p: dylan o'brien #jen's attempts at words #I'm hobrien trash and I'm not sorry #eternalhobrien

[k-l-s-h]

It was with a big huff, that Arria finally managed to unlocked the door of the apartment she shared with her uncle. Kicking it open, she hurried herself in before she could drop the too many bags in her hands. And once she succeeded in the task of deposing her sport and school bags in the living room, and her groceries in the kitchen, she allowed herself to let out a big sigh. Crawling back to the doorway just after to lock it again.

She was exhausted. Her days were so tiring and she wasn't in high-school yet. She couldn't even dare to imagine how it was going to be like when she'd be a university student either. But with the famous Choi Hyejin as her new coach, she should have known better than hope that she'd let her rest and breathe a little. Even if the junior championships were over, her trainings were even worse if possible than before them, and she just felt like crawling into a hole, and hide in it during a week. To just rest. Nonstop.

The little brunette shook her head. Forcing herself to get out of her sudden apathy by giving little slaps on her cheeks. Her day wasn't over yet and it was the price she had to pay if she wanted her dreams to become a reality.

Pushing herself off of the door, she went back in the kitchen and looked at the clock that was hanging on the wall. 6:42 PM. Her homework would have to wait for today as well. Putting away all the food, spices and condiments she had bought while keeping aside the ingredients she'd need for tonight's meal, she tried to guess at what hour her uncle would be back. He had made a note for her probably last night, when he was finally home and that she had found in the morning on the kitchen tables. Saying that he'd be out by the time she'd come for lunch, but that he'd be back for diner at 7:00 PM. Which meant that he'd be here around one and a half hour later, giving her just enough time to prepare something to eat for the both of them.

Not wasting anymore of it, she took the equivalent of what would fill the whole rice cooker, knowing way too well how much her uncle could eat, hoping that she'd still have some for tomorrow's lunch, and she started to rinse it.  Repeating the action a few times before she finally put it in the rice cooker with the cups of water needed, letting the little machine that had saved and made her life easier every day, do its magic.

"Now what can I do..." She mused out loud while she eyed the food still laying in front of her.

Even if Arria was only fourteen years old, the young teenager knew how to make a fairly great number of dishes that, even fully-grown adults, like her uncle, didn't. Her grandmother took pride in passing down to her, her culinary knowledge. Teaching and showing to the little girl how to do many traditional meals that weren't only Chinese, but from other Asian countries as well. Her younger self actually enjoyed the exercise a lot. And until this day, the brunette still did. There was something satisfying, in succeeding to make every flavours marry well the others and see the eyes of the ones tasting her dishes, lit up with pleasure. She felt like a little witch at the time who had the power to, either please with sweet things her brother and grandfather, or make them spit fire with wicked meals and her grandma's help when they were mean.

Arria chuckled a little at the memory, that actually helped her to settle her mind on what would be the night's menu: some green papaya salad with some sweet and sour chicken, since Wen wouldn't be happy without some meat. The girl was craving for actual fresh vegetables and spicy food since a week or two. But her uncle was so busy with his tattoo parlour and other ‘grown-up things’ like he'd said -that she knew were diverse night-trips to pubs- that he forgot, many times, to buy groceries for the both of them. Actually forgetting that he was not living alone anymore. He of course never did it on purpose. Arria knew that. And that was why she came to the resolution to add on her list to take care of it as well, with the other chores.

She still remembered the way he'd blush and apologize to her, the first time she had come to him and asked for some money to go out and buy them what they needed. Assuring him that it wasn't a big deal. But it was true that sometimes, she actually felt like she was either living alone, or was the one who actually took care of him since she did everything in the apartment. The laundry, dishes, ironing, cooking and cleaning. Everything. And it was tiring truly. But she didn't feel like she had much of a choice since he wouldn't do them. Or at least not after a long, long time. So, she took it upon herself to act up and take care of these things. Especially since he could have refused to take her with him. And she was indebted to her uncle for that. Even if he wasn't very present and not being much of help to the young girl, he still did not want her to end up in a boarding school, alone, in a foreign country. And she would forever be grateful to Wen for his thoughtful gesture.

Plus, it was doing the groceries, or never-ending takeout nights. And as much as it was some time and considerable energy kept for the young skater, she was sick, of those greasy meals that the tattooist seemed to enjoy way too much on his couch, in front of some show, his cigarettes near him and his ashtray fuming beside whatever food he'd bought for them. Reducing his niece appetite to smoke as well though, he'd seem these days to call the nearest pizzeria a lot less.

And Arria was actually pretty sure that, the disgusted looks she'd shot him and couldn't contain every time he ate that way, were the reasons why and had traumatized the poor man who couldn't bare it anymore. Her eyes were so full of judgment and silent reproaches, that Wen wasn't quite sure that she truly was a young teenager. He couldn't even dare to wonder how that look was going to develop through time.

Turning on the radio, the heavy silence making her feel uneasy, Arria then went to work. Thoughtlessly swaying to the songs passing on it, since she could never help herself when music was on, all the while she cut the vegetables and meat. And soon enough, she was humming, even dancing a little, like she always did. In a habit that never left her so far and probably never would. And after that, it didn't take her long to finish the dishes she has chosen for them. A satisfied sigh escaped her lips while she stretched her back. Content with herself and the sweet smell dancing in the air. She just hoped that he'd be true to his words and would be home this time and at a descent hour. Arria sincerely wanted to share a meal with him. With someone. She didn't want to be alone for once. Not this time.

It was a little after 10PM, when the little brunette finally heard the sound of keys unlocking the door. Making her head snap up from the homework she was working on and her heart beat faster.

"Sorry kiddo! I'm late but home!" Shouted the strong voice of Wen who was from where she was, visibly struggling and hurrying himself in with all the ruckus he made.

Scrambling to her feet herself, Arria almost tripped in her own hurry. Quickly joining the older man in the hallway. Opening her mouth, she was about to tell him how she thought that he had broken his promises again and how she still waited for him. Their dinner still in the pots because she really wanted to eat with him tonight. But she quickly shut it. Frowning a little at how clingy she would sound and instead, greeting him shortly before she headed into the kitchen. Mumbling that she was going to heat everything up again, and that he should make himself comfortable in the meantime. And even if Wen noticed her unusual behaviour, he put in on the fact that she was a growing teen and that teenagers were complicated to understand anyway. Doing then as she said and marvelling over the fact that even the table was neatly set. Forcing his niece to bit her tongue. Ready to retort that it was set and done since more than two hours now, and that he should have been the one doing it for once. But of course, she kept her thoughts for herself. And some minutes later, she was bringing plates and bowls of fuming food ready to be served while of course, once again, Wen was spread on the couch and looking at whatever show was on the tv. Getting a sigh out of Arria.

"Food is ready!"

"Oh! Perfect I'm starving and it smells so good!" He shouted happily in response. Chuckling then awkwardly when he noticed the way the young girl was looking at him, as if she was trying to stab him with her eyes, once he was sitting at the table. "And you must be too as well I... Am so sorry Jie I'll do better next time I pinkie swear..."

And she sighed again. Falling down on her own chair with a small and reassuring smile. She knew he'd break that vow. But not on purpose. So it was okay in a way. "It's not a big deal uncle. Anyway enjoy."

Content with his niece's response and smile, Wen didn't try to overanalyse her. Grinning joyfully instead and wishing her a 'Bon Appetit'. She didn't have to wait too long to start eating, since he almost shoved his chopsticks in the different dishes to his mouth right away. Making her blink several times as she was serving herself. If her grandmother was there...

"Aaah it's delicious Jie!" Her uncle moaned. "I haven't eaten something this good since mama's Xiuying dishes!" Speaking of the devil, he forced her to suppress a snort. "She truly taught you good! Gosh your husband will be one lucky bastard!"

The tiny but sincere smile that was at first stretching her lips disappeared just as fast as it came. His last sentence making her freeze for a few seconds before she continued to eat as if nothing happened. Her nose deep in her bowl. Of course, he too would say something like that. They all said things like that to her. How she must know how to cook, how to sew, how to take care of the house and everything because that's what her future husband would except from her. Complimenting her then on how she'd be a great wife when she'd get older. And she knew that a lot of girls wanted to have children later with a loving and handsome husband. But she never really wanted to, her. Even if it was the biggest wish of her grandmother, she was sceptical about it. Because all she wanted to do in life, was skating, dancing, be with her brother and still be friend and hangout with Cyrus. That was what she wanted.

"Speaking of that, how's your lil Iranian friend kiddo?"

Arria shot him a suspicious glare. Not liking how he linked him to her future lucky bastard of a husband. "He's fine... His teachers are being a pain too since the brevet is coming soon as well as our first orientation choices."

"Aaah! That's not what I meant Jie!" Wen whined, making her squint her eyes. "Did he ask you out already or not? He'll have concurrence soon he'd better hurry!"

She chocked on her sweet pepper slice at his words. She was not, ready for that.

 "What?!" She managed to shout in spite of the situation, trying to make the vegetable go down her throat with some water. Eyes wide. "What do you mean?!"

And it was his turn to look stunned. Blinking several times before he mused out loud. "Ooooh... You two are still in denial... I see..."

At this point of the conversation, Arria had just learned how to master a dumbfounded, horrified and unimpressed expression at the same time. "Geez he's just a friend uncle Wen what?!"

"What?!" He laughed "Well you're both so cute together!" Arria scoffed at that even though it didn't stop him. "You're literally joined by the hip plus, I dunno! I never saw you date anyone so far, it's weird! you're of age kiddo!"

She snorted. "And look who's talking..."

Silence was what responded to her spicy gibe while she was shewing angrily her mouthful of just as spicy salad. And it took her some more seconds to realize what she had dared to say out loud. The teenager's eyes grew wide and she clasped a hand over her mouth a minute or two too late.

Shit.

She had said what she had thought this time. And not only in her head.

Shit!

"Oh fuck- I-I mean! Oh my god I'm sorry I didn't mean to-"

And to her biggest surprise, she was cut by his thunderous laugh. Making her blink. Another thing she was not excepting from him that night.

"Fuck!" He laughed, clapping his hands together. "Oh fuck Jie you really should speak up your mind a lil more like that damn kiddo!"

Wen then leaned on the table, mischief in his eyes and a hand covering the side of his mouth, as if he was going to tell her a secret. "You know, you should never hold back when you have good gibes on the tip of your tongue. Especially if they're targeting an old single stupid man like me."

She blinked again. Almost not daring to believe what he was telling her, and how her grandmother would hit him with an improvised weapon if she was there. "… You know that you're basically telling me to disrespect adults, right?"

A silence responded to her, shortly followed by a mumbled cuss that made the corner of her mouth twitch. "Shit. That's so probably not how the oldies raised you right? Parenting is really not my thing huh?"

"Well I won't deny that."

She fell with all her weight on her bed. Head first landing on her fluffy pillow. Arria was even more exhausted now. Wen continued to tease her about Cyrus during the rest of their dinner despite her growls ad sighs and 'No!'. And of course, when they were full, she still had to wash up the dishes and pots. The old man returning to his television, making it a tough mission for his niece to not just throw her sponge on the back of his head. But that was how her life routine was. So she just fantasized about it and how nice it would have been to just give on her impulses. Arria was already dozing off, ready to just succumb to the call of sleep, when the tattooist didn't even bother to knock on her door and almost smashed it against the wall, phone in hand. And, fully awake now, she was ready to just insult and curse him before he cut her, a smug grin on his stupid old man's face.

"Jie!" He hummed. "It's your future boyfriend!"

She could, murder him, at this point. She really could. Especially since he hadn't say it in Chinese. On fucking purpose. Arria literally snatched the phone out of his hands and pushed him harshly out of her room. Making him burst out laughing under her whispered bad words as she slammed the door behind him.

"...Your what now?"

"Oh shut the fuck up okay!" She finally snapped, her patience equal to zero, especially with that smug tone of his. "The old idiot is being an idiot that's all and urrgh!"

She almost crawled back to her bed. Completely ignoring the fact that she was actually happy to hear his voice after that long day, even if he indirectly made it more tiring.

She fell this time on her back with a soft sigh, frowning a little after some seconds. "Why are you calling so late in the night anyway?"

Cyrus scoffed. "Wow miss moody! That's how you treat your only friend really? Who calls you in the dead of the night to light up your mood? I deserve better than that."

"Fuck you."

"Hey take it slow okay, I'm not even your boyfriend yet."

She hissed at his words. Happy that he wasn't there to see her furiously blush though, he knew she was by the way he started to snicker at her. Another one she added to her to kill list. They soon started to bicker like they usually do. Throwing gibes at each other but laughing too. Even if she'd never admit it out loud and certainly not in front of him, he truly could light up her mood in a snap of his fingers. Or make her hiss and growl like a damn animal.

"Hey." He cut her suddenly. Surprising the mixed-race girl with how deep his voice was getting with time.

"Yeah?"

"Happy birthday..."

Arria blinked. What?

Straightening herself up, her elbows sinking into the soft mattress of her bed, she shot a glare at her alarm clock. It was past midnight. Her computer lit up almost immediately with a mail notification and she didn't had to go to it, to figure out who could have send it, since she was already on the phone with the only other person who knew, and remembered. The corners of her mouth twitched. And soon enough, a bright and soft smile was dancing on her lips while she finally realized why, he had called her this late at night. It felt like fireworks were popping in her chest and stomach.

And she whispered. "Thank you..."

#drabble #text #writing #arria jie zhang #cyrus kaveh #cyrria #teen arria #teen cyrus #it's arria's birthdaay #she's 8 years old now jfc #so i was supposed to post a text about aaron too #cuz like he's her twin i mean it's his birthday too but not really #but #i was so tired this week #i fucking slept instead of writing #i'm so lame #sobs #but i'll post it soon too hopefully hahaha... #anyway #slice of life #teen arria is cute a lil #i wanna protect and hug her #especially when she'll turn 16 everything goes downhill after that #also #after the cute last scene #wen is gonna smash the door against the wall again and scream like a mad man happy birthday jieeeee!!! #and the neighbours are gonna knock on the wall #and arria is gonna facepalm and ask to cyrus to just save or kill her already before wen will #also i don't know if i like it but kshfskjdfh okay #i'll post it anyway

[allenmendezsr]

High Converting Offer From Joe Vitale!

New Post has been published on https://autotraffixpro.app/allenmendezsr/high-converting-offer-from-joe-vitale/

High Converting Offer From Joe Vitale!

 Buy Now

    What’s the real secret to removing hidden inner blocks so you can have preferred results?

What’s the truth about the Law of Attraction, anyway?

At last! – You can now start clearing the unconscious limiting beliefs in you that have prevented your attracting all you desire!

Just listen to The Clearing Audio™. You don’t have to do anything in particular except relax. You can even listen while you surf the net, rest, or work. Let the audio do the rest. It’s really that easy.

Order The Clearing Audio™ right now and begin to release and actually erase your hidden blocks to the wealth, success, happiness and all that you desire!

Does this honestly work? (It’s guaranteed.)

How does it work? (See below.)

Keep reading for the surprising proof…including why some people haven’t been able to attract money (until now) and how the universe really works…!

From the E-Desk of Dr. Joe Vitale Wimberley Texas, Planet Earth

Dear Friend –

You probably know I’m in the movie The Secret – the hit movie that is teaching people around the world about the Law of Attraction.

But far too many people see it, try it and say it doesn’t work.There’s a reason for that. And the movie doesn’t explain it.

So let me explain it…

How the LOA Really Works

The Law of Attraction (LOA) is as real as gravity. I’ve already proved this in such books of mine as The Attractor Factor and The Key, and in my audioprogram, The Missing Secret.

The thing is, the LOA works on an un-conscious level.

That means if you have counter-intentions within you, those intentions will get manifested instead of the conscious intentions you really want!

Stay with me on this—

Say you want more money.

You state the intention “I now attract more money into my life.”

You sit, meditate, feel the good vibes of having more money.

But—the money doesn’t come.

Why not?

Most likely because in your unconscious mind you have beliefs such as—

“Money is evil.”

“Money will attract problems.”

“Money will make me a selfish person.”

“Wanting money is greedy.”

“Rich people are snobs.”

If you have one or more of those limiting beliefs within you, do you really think you’ll attract any money?

In truth, you’ll attract NOT having money.

Why?

Because your unconscious counter-intention (“Money is bad”) will veto your conscious intention (“I now attract more money into my life””).

Is it any wonder some people say The Secret or the Law of Attraction doesn’t work?

It’s only $9

Hi Joe,

I just wanted to share with you since I bought the clearing audio just 48 hours ago (yes 48 hours ago) I feel more calm, less stressed about life and my business and the really neat thing is, I wanted to test this theory of setting the intention and listening and doing the inspired action that followed, this is a really big deal so stay with me.

I am a work-a-holic, my intention was to make 1000 thousand dollars easily and effortlessly, I listened to the 20 minute audio, I finished with the session and the inspired thought came to me to take time to play with my newborn son that everything is taken care? Not sure where that thought came from as it is not me, well we played and played and played and finally I put him to bed last night around 7pm and decided to check my emails before watching my NASCAR race, at 6:49 pm I received an email from my system saying that I had a new sale and that sale was for guess what 1,000 thousand dollars 🙂

I am ecstatic and I am looking forward to cleaning and clearing on a lot more issues. This one tool ties everything together and makes it work beautifully…Thank you so much

To your and my success,

John and Chystal Pate | www.ConnectwithJohnPate.com

Enter your email below and Joe will share his tools and recommendations you can use to find true success, absolutely free…

We Don’t Abuse Or Share Your Information EVER!

How the Universe Works

In my book The Key, and in my audioprogram The Missing Secret, I use the following diagram to explain how the Universe works:

Joe, I just want you to know that I am positively stunned by the effectiveness of the Clearing Audio. I downloaded them, dropped them on my ipod and used the binaural music track during my morning meditation, I was not only charged with positive energy, but I had amazing and inspired new insights for product ideas, AND I had several inbound requests for big time joint ventures. Wow. But that’s not all. A little later in the morning I ran it again while I was training (exercise). UNBELIEVABLE results, more energy, more power, faster recovery. It is my new secret weapon. You’re amazing. Thank you!

Steve Little | California

You CLEAR THEM.

Obviously, once you clear those hidden blocks to your success, your success has nothing in the way of happening.

The roadblocks are gone.

You’re clear.

But how do you get clear?

After all, the unconscious limitations are un-conscious!

So how do you find them and erase them?

I’ve been developing different ways to help myself and others get clear for years now. They include Miracles Coaching, my books, my events, DVDs and more.

All of those work, but not everyone can afford them.

So I created The Clearing Audio™.

What does it do?

It’s only $9

The Clearing Audio™ is a breakthrough in personal growth.

It is original music and original statements by me, a certified hypnotherapist and, well, a “master belief cleanser.” 🙂

The combination of spoken commands and original music, combined with some high-tech binaural sounds (Milagro VF™), creates a unique audio that speaks to your unconscious mind.

The music is easy listening, relaxing, and de-stressing.

You can play it while you work, drive, rest, exercise or even sleep.

You can listen to it once a day, once every few days, or whenever you feel inspired to play it.

Regular use is best, of course, because it will continue to clean those hidden blocks. (I’m listening to it as I write this.)

We made the audio months ago but wanted to keep testing it to be sure it works.

Boy, does it!

I’ve listened to it on a regular basis and noted my energy went up, my productivity went up, my creativity improved, and I achieved more goals easier and faster.

And I was already doing pretty good!

Now it’s your turn.

Hi Joe,

The Clearing Audio has been very powerful for me. While listening the first time yesterday I came up with an exciting business idea. I immediately took action on registering the domain name. I put the audios on to fall asleep to last night and had to get up and log back into my computer to register another domain. I finally turned them off so I could get some sleep!

I think they are magical!

Thank you for a powerful and simple cleaning tool.

Fran | [email protected]

It’s only $9

Order The Clearing Audio™ right now. Download it to your computer or iPod or any other player, and listen to it.

That’s it.

I still suggest—no, I insist—that you set intentions and take action, but now you’ll have The Clearing Audio™ to remove those hidden blocks in you so you can actually achieve your intentions.

Think of it.

Now you can use the Law of Attraction in a conscious, directed way.

The secret formula for success is simple:

State your intention.

Listen to The Clearing Audio.

Act on the Inspirations you get.

And then look out—RESULTS ARE GUARANTEED!

It’s only $9

With the affirmations spoken by Dr. Vitale–out loud–so you can hear them.

To make sure you get the most effective results, we’re including three different forms of the Clearing Audio™.

With the same affirmations delivered directly to your subconscious.

With just the inspirational music.

You can immediately download all three audios.

It’s only $9

Just a note to let you know how beautiful this audio is. I have been looking for something like this for the past few years.

Back in the 60’s Jose Silva with the Silva Mind Control developed an audio with sounds that slowed the brain to 10 cycles per second which is the alpha state. The second sound on the audio slowed down the heart. Together it sounded like an old washing machine. But it worked and was a fast way to put a person into self hypnosis.

I have heard the one put out by [another company] but the sounds upset my hearing and were harsh.

This is beautiful.

Eunice |

Your Guarantee: If you’re not happy any time within 8 weeks from your purchase, let me know and you can have your money refunded—all of it—no questions asked.

There’s nothing else to say except try this for yourself. The investment is tiny but the return could be abundantly miraculous.

Why not order The Clearing Audio™ and see for yourself?

After all, what if it really works?

Order Yours Now!

Yours for Success, Dr. Joe Vitale Author of way too many books to list here www.mrfire.com

PS—The Clearing Audio™ won’t take away your will to do anything or replace earthly action.

You still have to set your intentions and take action.

But now, with The Clearing Audio™ on your side, you’ll be able to easily remove those blocks to your wishes.

Order it and let the magic begin.

PPS—I’ll be blunt. You know you’ve attracted some things easily but other goals have seemed impossible or difficult.

Why were some easy and others hard? The Law of Attraction works all the time, so the difference must be IN YOU.

Again, if you have blocks and beliefs that don’t agree with the intention you state, you won’t achieve your intention.

You must get clear.

The easiest, fastest, most cost effective way I know how to do this is with The Clearing Audio™.

You may be skeptical about it, but what will you achieve if you don’t at least try it?

Order it and test it for yourself.

It’s only $9

[gadgetsrevv]

Matteo Guendouzi: ‘My chance is now and I want to take it’

Matteo Guendouzi has always been looking forward. Even when he was 16 and one of the most promising talents in the Paris Saint-Germain academy, the midfielder was never satisfied with what he had already achieved — he wanted to progress even more.

That meant leaving PSG for Lorient in 2014 to have a clearer path to the first team. It didn’t take Guendouzi long to establish himself there, but within two years he had another goal to aim for: getting into Arsenal’s senior side.

Arriving at the Emirates in July 2018 as a virtual unknown outside his home country, at the tender age of 19, the Frenchman quickly went about impressing his new fans and has become a fixture under Unai Emery ever since. But his ambition is still burning strong. After making a name for himself in the Premier League, getting into the France national team became the next goal.

The World Cup winners already have a quality midfield, but Guendouzi was named as a replacement for the injured Paul Pogba ahead of the Euro 2020 qualifying clashes against Albania and Andorra this week and couldn’t be more pleased.

“It was always a dream to be called up one day for the national team,” he told ESPN FC. “I have played in all the youth teams since I was 16-years-old. I have worked so hard to get here, with the France A team. It is maybe a bit of surprise that he has arrived so quickly but I knew that if I was performing with Arsenal, one of the biggest clubs in Europe, then I would have a chance. My chance is now and I want to take it.”

– Euro 2020 qualifying: All you need to know – Giroud open to MLS move in the future – Marcotti: Arsenal, Spurs not title challengers

Injuries to Pogba, Tanguy Ndombele, N’Golo Kante and Houssem Aouar certainly fast-tracked Guendouzi’s call-up a bit, but there were plenty of other players that coach Didier Deschamps could have called on instead. The 20-year-old has earned his place.

“I was with the France under-21 squad at Clairefontaine, having a nap, when the coach rang me and said that I had to leave to move next door to the castle where the senior players are staying! I could not believe it at first,” he said. “I thought it was some sort of a dream!”

Guendouzi quickly made his way next door and Deschamps was waiting for him with a little joke up his sleeve, as always. “I was told that you wanted to see the castle, so here you are!” the head coach said with a smile before wishing him well.

Deschamps has been carefully watching the midfielder develop for the past two seasons, including in last Sunday’s 2-2 draw against Tottenham in which Guendouzi was the best player on the pitch.The 1998 and 2018 World Cup winner has been impressed by the youngster’s ability to play as a complete midfielder — capable of defending, attacking, picking a pass and dictating the tempo. But, most importantly, it is Guendouzi’s character (as shown with his fine initiation song below) which has earned him his place in the squad.

Comme le veut la tradition, Matteo Guendouzi et Jonathan Ikoné ont dû chanter devant le groupe hier soir !

#FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/RWpsiQdiM5

— Equipe de France

(@equipedefrance) September 4, 2019

“I have a strong temper with a lot of determination,” he said. “I believe in myself and in my qualities. I don’t take anything for granted because I know that only hard work pays off. That’s why I am here. I really feel that I have improved massively in the last year or so. Tactically, I am more mature, technically and physically, I have taken my game to the next level.”

This week, at training, Guendouzi has not looked out of his depth at all. In fact, a source told ESPN FC: “It looks like he has been in the setup for ever. He is comfortable, trains well and is a good character to have in the dressing room.” Many of France’s senior players have welcomed him with opened arms, too.

Guendouzi has earned his place in the France squad.

The hardest part has probably been to answer all the messages of congratulations that he has received after his call-up, including from his two closest friends and de facto big brothers at Arsenal: Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

“I am sorry for all the people I haven’t got back to yet, he smiles. It has been crazy,” he added. “It was overwhelming because you see how happy and proud your family and friends are for you. You speak to them on the phone, they cry, they scream! It was a dream to wear this shirt and I will never forget this day.”

On Saturday evening, the national anthem at the Stade de France before the game against Albania will be a very special moment for Guendouzi as a Paris born-and-bred kid who used to go there to watch his idols play.

Now his own moment has arrived. Of course, he will be hoping to get his first cap, even just for a few seconds in front of all his family and friends, but he will have another chance to do so on Tuesday, still at the Stade de France, against Andorra. And if it doesn’t happen this time, Guendouzi will keep working hard to make sure he is back in the squad for the next round of qualifiers.

Just 18 months ago, he was playing for Lorient in the French second division. Now he’s a star for one of the biggest clubs in Europe, set to make his debut for his national team at 20-years-old. Once he achieves that, one can only wonder what his next goal will be.

//due to VPPA compliance we can not send keywords through URLs implicitly in the US var countryValue = $.cookie("country"); if(!!countryValue && countryValue !== "us") {

(function() { var _fbq = window._fbq || (window._fbq = []); if (!_fbq.loaded) { var fbds = document.createElement('script'); fbds.async = true; fbds.src = "http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbds.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(fbds, s); _fbq.loaded = true; } _fbq.push(['addPixelId', '1587432981493230']); })(); window._fbq = window._fbq || []; window._fbq.push(['track', 'PixelInitialized', {}]);

$.ajax({ url: '//pixel.mathtag.com/event/js?mt_id=694557&mt_adid=137010&v1=&v2=&v3=&s1=&s2=&s3=', dataType: 'script', cache: true }); } (function(d, s, id) {var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if (d.getElementById(id)) return;js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;js.src = "http://connect.facebook.net/en_GB/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=116656161708917";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, "script", "facebook-jssdk")); Source link

via wordpress https://ift.tt/2Ltv5dm

#Uncategorized #Matteo Guendouzi Matteo Guendouzi: ‘My chance is now and I want to take it’

[vaulthigh]

Wait… Olympians need pep talks…?

Writing. It’s something I have always loved to do. I have kept a journal since age 10, and began occasionally blogging a few years ago. I really love to keep a journal because it allows me to express emotions when I really don’t want to share them with a human.

I specify “human” because I often share them with my dog.

Ok, back to the journal thing…

Journals will always listen. Journals are always there for you. Journals will never agree or disagree, they will only hear what you want to say, then tuck it away quietly to never be seen again. The only problem is, if you write something moving, its very likely it will go unread for many, many years - that is if it’s ever read at all.

And thus, the beauty of blogging becomes apparent. I feel I have experienced enough in my life my words could make a difference to someone, no matter how small. Maybe they could inspire a young athlete, or encourage a parent to help their child chase their dreams. I put content out there, and I never know who might end up reading it. That is the beauty of blogging.

I often don’t like to write about bad experiences. I find myself going back to read old journal entries or blog posts, and sometimes I think things are best forgotten. On the contrary, it’s nice to write about good ones. This time around, I think writing about my struggles this season could truly benefit any athlete who might read this.

Note: it might be difficult for non-pole vaulters to fully understand everything… but please read anyway…)

(I find the obnoxious GIFs hilarious, soooooo….)

This season has been far from glamorous in comparison to last year. 2016 was absolutely amazing. The stars aligned. I overcame a wrist fracture from a broken pole, and turned it all around, vaulting my way to an Olympic Silver Medal and the second highest mark in outdoor history. I became only the third woman all-time, indoor or out, to break the 5-meter barrier. I cannot even put into words how that felt. I accomplished things I had dreamt of since I first picked up a pole vault pole at age 13. This season has felt minuscule in comparison. 

My first consolation to myself is, this is pretty typical. Many athletes come off of a their absolute best seasons ever and go into a slump for a bit. Like anything else in life, sport has its peaks and valleys. I will say, indoor season was rough mostly because I was fighting with some ankle and back issues. Long story short, I couldn’t train the way I needed or wanted to in order to be my best. We are now in the thick of outdoor season, and my body feels pretty darn good. It has just been annoying to modify my training in order to keep my back from flaring up. With tweaked training, my body has felt great! And really, this outdoor season I have felt like my jump is mostly “back to normal”. (Note: “normal” is fine temporarily, but even my “normal” has a lot of things needing fixed.) What really dampens my spirit is even though I feel pretty good, the heights just haven’t been there. I will clear a 4.65m/15’3” bar my a mile, but then not put together a make at the next height. At one small meet I put together a 4.84m jump, which I was very happy with given everything I have dealt with this season- but it is extremely frustrating to clear a 4.90 bungie in warmups and not be able to put it together when the bar goes up. My run and jumps have just not been consistent this year.

As I said earlier, this is how I feel “so far”… but truly, I know I can push through. The important thing is, my body feels good, and I know the heights are in me. I just have to coax them out. As I like to say, you have to be more stubborn than gravity to be a vaulter. And believe me when I say I am extremely stubborn, and also driven. I believe those two qualities will guide me to breaking the world record someday.

I am not undermining how big of a feat that is. 

Putting together a world-record jump in a competition, when the bar is up, is very different from jumping that high in practice. I know I have jumped world record heights in practice before! I also know I am not the only one who has done so. But the reason the WR is so hard to break is because you only get so many chances to even attempt it in a competition. 

Think about it like this: as a pole vaulter, you might get three attempts at a personal best in a competition. MIGHT. You have to clear all of the bars leading up to that height before you even get to attempt it. If you get more than three attempts at a PR, that means you probably already jumped a PR and are going for the next one. Compare this to other events. In many other field events, the athletes are not held back by the mark of something they are attempting. They just go for it. Take long jump and the throwing events for example. They give each attempt all of their effort, and each one is a possibility to hit a new PR. In the vault, it doesn’t matter how much you clear a bar by. The bar has to be SET at that record in order to be able to achieve it! Well, I just rambled a bit, but… all I am trying to say is getting to the point where you can attempt a WR means you have to have a clean day up to that. You have to be ON. You don’t want to go into those attempts with dead legs from jumping at way too many bars beforehand. Also, don’t take this as me undermining the other events. That is not my intention. I am just trying to clarify how few shots vaulters get at big performances.

So wait… where am I going with this? Well, basically I am trying to describe my mindset. Last year was phenomenal, and I was spoiled with amazing performances. I guess part of me thought I would pick right back up where I started. I thought at this point I would be taking some solid looks at that WR. Instead, I jammed my ankle the very first meet of the year, and experienced intense back spasms beginning the second meet of the indoor season! I have never really had to deal with injuries before, aside from the wrist fracture last year, so those nagging issues indoor season were a bit of a wake up call. I know I just need to listen to my body and find ways to train without hurting it (more than pole-vault already does, by nature). I guess this blog is a bit of a pep talk to myself, but also I wanted to show the world that even the best of the best experience slumps. You have to pick yourself back up off the ground, and keep on moving.

I am not defining 2017 by what has happened thus far. Last year, I broke my wrist and was out for weeks. It was difficult to clear 4.75m when I came back to make the Olympic Team. Just a few weeks after that, my rhythm just clicked and suddenly bars in the 4.90’s were easy. The Outdoor American Record was just… easy. It felt so effortless. I know that if I keep on fighting, my rhythm will come back. I know it will. I have faith in myself, my abilities, coach, and my training. I know I still have time to turn things around and make dreams come true. Man, becoming World Champion this summer would be quite nice. It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?

And things WILL come together with persistence and health. Even if it’s not this season, I know it will happen in the near future. I know I’ll continue to be a force to reckon with as long as I keep at this thing with a strong mental outlook. And I am so excited because it’s not only me, but a handful of other women, too. I feel like the women’s pole-vault is about to be taken to another level in the next five years. I just really desire to be the one to lead on the pack!

My biggest goals for my career are of course a world record, an Olympic Gold Medal, and a World Championship Gold medal… but honestly, if I am even able to achieve one of those I would be happy. But what I want the absolute most is to then turn around and help the next generation realize their dreams. I want kids to see their talent and utilize it. Or maybe realize they might not be the most naturally gifted with athletic ability, but see how much they can accomplish if they persist and focus on technique. There have been countless athletes from sports across the board to surprise people. Athletes whom were looked down on and disregarded as harmless. You truly never know how far your body can go until you just allow it to. Stop letting the doubts in your mind get in the way. Stop letting people talk you down. Stop letting the trash talk get to your brain. Let that nonsense go in one ear and out the other, then go out there and let the performances do the talking.

So, I wanted to write about my frustrating season full of performances I see as inadequate because 1. it’s a great way to help myself see the big picture, 2. I want my young followers to see they are not alone in any struggles they may be experiencing in sports, and 3. because sometimes, forgetting the bad isn’t such a good idea - then we wouldn’t know when to appreciate the good. Right? Right.

FAST FORWARD…

Well, a few days ago, I wrote what you just read above. Now, on June 30th at 9:42p.m. central time, I begin by saying this: five days ago, I won my first USA Outdoor title. Quite the turn-around, I would say.

This is the beauty of sport.

This is a true testament to persistence and self-belief being the key to success. It truly is. Although I have had a few meets I wish I could completely forget about this season, all of that feels like it has been erased after this past weekend. Isn’t it amazing how a single competition can completely turn things around for an athlete mentally… emotionally? I was down on myself, but I had not, for a single second, forgotten what I was capable of. You always have to remember who you are, and not let a few “bad” performances erase things you have accomplished in the past. Society is very quick to forget. We (athletes) already have enough pressure on ourselves to perform well at each and every competition we go to. Here is some advice: don’t add to it. We already have to deal with pressure from everyone else. Why put more on yourself for no reason at all? Nobody but you can turn things around. 

On Sunday I walked out with my head held high. I was predicted to take second, and I was out to jump right over those predictions. You can’t achieve your goals each and every time, but you do have to set out to achieve them EACH AND EVERY TIME. I let the predictions be my motivator.

I stepped out on the runway and said in my mind, “ok then, watch this.”

I also decided to have fun with it. I have always been an exuberant person. My emotions radiate from me like rays of sunlight. Lately, this season, I have been less bubbly after each jump, because I hadn’t been hitting the heights I wanted. I realized that not being happy with each make was holding me back. If I start each competition with a smile, and make every single height with a smile, the happy emotions uplift me. I am much more likely to jump high if I cheer and have fun with every bar. So that’s exactly what I did.

I made almost every single bar on my first attempt. I jumped 4.80m on my first shot, and a few moments later I knew I had it won. I wanted to cry tears of happiness. I proved to myself that I could endure a crappy first half to the season, then turn around and win a national title.

It’s funny. I think athletes often think we have something to prove to the world, yet we really only have to prove it to ourselves. I may have been out there thinking “watch this!”… but the “watch this” wasn’t for the crowd, it was probably for myself. “Watch this Sandi - you can do this. You can overcome everything you have been through this season.”

I really don’t know what else to say. I am just happy.

I may elaborate on some of these thoughts later, but for now…

NETFLIX.

:)

Thank you so much for reading my babble.

xo

-Sandi

#TeamUSA USA Trackandfield Overcome

[rachelerobfit]

IRONMAN Texas 2017: Not a Race Report

This past Saturday was Ironman Texas. It would have been my first IRONMAN distance triathlon and the culmination of 5 months of training. Exactly one week to race day I had a bike wreck leaving me with multiple fractures in my pelvis and a fractured rib FTW. I swerved to avoid hitting fresh road kill when my front wheel found a large seam in the road. I tried to regain control of my bike, but it wasn’t in the stars. Texas road kill: 1, Rachele: 0. I was told it was epic (Don’t half-ass anything. Always full ass, always.) with the feet way up in the air, sending my head and right side crashing down into the ground. I was not going to be racing IMTX on April 22nd. It wasn’t only bone-breaking but so terribly soul-crushing. As I sat in the emergency department I thought of ways that I could make it happen (it’s really good I didn’t as I would have been easily destroyed within the first few hundred yards of the swim with a kick to the ribs or any part of the body). All my ducks were in a row. I had my transition and special needs bags packed, hotels booked, dog-sitter arranged, sherpa in order, and family in-bound from New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Because my family rocks, they still came out to spend time with me. Through this whole ordeal my Powerhouse Racing tribe have been so incredibly awesome. So many people reached out in person, text, social media…every outlet possible, and have gone above and beyond any expectation. It has certainly helped to numb some of the physical and emotional pain. 

 My family and I still planned to head up to The Woodlands to cheer on the athletes but more importantly I wanted to be there to support my teammates as they have supported me.

The days leading up to race day were a bit emotional. I was touch and go for a bit, waxing and waning between anger, sadness, relief (that I wasn’t hurt more).  I received even more gestures and messages from everyone. A few seriously made me laugh (it was painful but I laughed my ass off on the inside). I went to Powerhouse Racing for a massage with Lisa. I had no idea that Bobby and Michael along with JZ and Mel and planned a little surprise celebration. Bobby ordered the most spectacularly disgusting but awesome cake: red velvet topped with fresh road-kill (made of rice crispy treats). I love his sense of humor. He gets me. He really gets me. Bobby has been key in keeping my bike together during training. He’s been an ear to listen and a has shared a wealth of knowledge and experience in triathlon.

 Ugh! Being immobile makes time…slow...down. These last few weeks before I wrecked were going by so fast. I was nervous about my training. I was worried that I wasn’t ready. I was worried that I hadn’t trained enough. But I was assured by the best, that I was (ready). I did the training. I checked all of the boxes…well majority of them. You see, with Yarzy as your coach you make sure you do the work. I purposely chose Jim because of his personality. I needed someone that would hold my feet to the fire and more importantly call me out on my own bullshit. I knew he wouldn’t be afraid to tell me (when needed) that I was full of shit…and he wasn’t…and he did! He said I was ready. And I was.

 Over the past few weeks I had my race strategy and race day nutrition playing in a loop in my head. In my mind I saved visuals of my T1, T2, and special needs bags. Exiting the water, getting on the bike, and wrapping up the run. I visualized running down the chute and hearing…well…you know.

 It was Thursday. I had planned on heading up to The Woodlands today to athlete check-in and to do all the things I needed to do before race day. Instead I just lounged around locally. I made myself stay active/limber as the Ohana were in town. We ran some errands, went shopping, Mike took a few on them to tour the NASA Super Guppy. We stayed in rest of the day, binged Scandal and played some maj-jhong. All the while in my head I kept saying by now I would’ve been through athlete check-in…by now I would’ve been to the athlete briefing…by now I would’ve (insert IRONMAN activity here). I got some great messages throughout the day from fellow athletes. They were all nice and heartfelt wishing me well. Steven said, “you will cross the finish line”. He would race with my initials on his m-dot on race day. Dustin said (regarding my crash), “…it was pretty gnarly. You caught some big air. I would’ve been crying like a baby…you’re a champ…easily the baddest bitch I know!”. Ceseilia added “RR” decals on her race helmet. This was cool because although we didn’t really get the chance to train together, we still trained together (and our IRONSHERPA were bonded). Then Johnny posted that he’d dedicate his race to me. That got the waterworks going. I know that JZ had some unfinished business of his own at Texas so this wasn’t ‘just an IRONMAN’ for him. This gesture was pretty amazing and I just can’t thank him enough for this.

Throughout the day I was trying to stay of social media because while I was happy for my teammates, it stung a little. I thought I should be in that water for practice swim. I want to go to lunch with the crew at Chipotle. I want to see my name at the Lulu store. I want pictures of me at bike drop. I want my IMTX swag and a coolio bracelet. The family and Mike did an awesome job of keeping me occupied as I clearly had a case of the FOMO.

It was getting late and again my thoughts wandered… if I WERE racing, I needed to be in bed…like yesterday. After a few rounds of schooling Mike at maj-jhong I finally hit the rack…and/or the meds were kicking in. If I didn’t get horizontal soon I’d have kanji imprinted on my forehead. It was going to be a long day tomorrow- it’s IRONMAN.  

Per usual, my body clock wakes me up at around 4-4:30am. Like a meth-head I opened my phone to Facebook. I wanted to send some final well wishes to my teammates and see what was going on. Instead I opened up to the group page with Ana and JT in bodymarking, scribing “R4R” (Race for Rachele) on my teammate’s arms. Que the tears. Ohhh-emmmmm-gheeeee! I wanted nothing more than to race along side all of them. Obviously I couldn’t so this was the second best thing. Ana and JT, your enthusiasm for triathlon and our tribe is palpable and contagious. Don’t stop.

We make our way up to The Woodlands and all those previous thoughts and emotions were stirring. Here I was broken, headed to a race I had trained for over the past five months. I didn’t know how I was going to feel about being on the side-lines. I vented to Michael on the drive up and was quickly reminded that I was going up there to give just as much, if not more support than I’ve received. ‘Nuff said.

The energy at IRONMAN Texas is unreal. We got up there in time to see almost all of Powerhouse at some point starting out or already on the run course. JZ was the first Powerhouse athlete Mike and I saw. He was wrapping up his first loop. He was in the hurt locker for sure. He stopped to for a quick fist bump and he moving. FINALLY got to the tent. You can imagine my pace moving from the parking garage to the tent, scooting me and my little walker along. There has to be a way to rig that thing to go faster. Aero bars, race wheels…something. I’ll have to get with Bobby and JZ on that. I knew I wasn’t going to last very long as I was in a bit of pain, but it felt great to be there. It was the first IRONMAN event that my family had been to and I think they were pumped and are ready for more! I wanted to at least see our athletes once on the course. I stood up to hi-five as runners made their way through the “gauntlet”. As they were hi-fiving back I felt more and more pain through the fractured rib. I tried switching to the other side but most people are right-handed. Whatever… it was worth seeing them all come through, most with smiles on their faces. It was also nice to get hugs (even the schweaty ones) from our athletes and even words of encouragement from them…FROM THEM! They were the ones racing but were giving me love! How freaking awesome is this Powerhouse Racing tribe?!!! By now some of our athletes were through the finish line, new or renewed IRONMAN or on their way. It was time to say good night. Mike was anxious about me coming out and being out on my feet for as long as I was, and with good reason.

The following day Johnny organized a gathering at a Boondoggles. My cousin who came in from NYC, is a runner and dipping into the triathlon world accompanied us. On the ride to the pub he was asking about Powerhouse Racing and what sets it apart from other groups in the area, what was the formula in having almost a spot-on completion rate our athletes. I couldn’t quite explain or put it into concise words. Obviously anyone can write a plan, hand it off to an athlete and be on their way. But that’s not how it’s done at the Powerhouse. Anyone can calculate paces and set training zones for athletes. That’s easy. There’s an app for that. But again, that’s not how it’s done at the Powerhouse. Johnny has definitely set himself and the Powerhouse apart from the rest. Johnny and Melanie, and all the coaches truly have a vested interest and want to see our athletes progress through their training, reach their race goals and finish strong. From a super sprint to IRONMAN distances, it’s no different. Everyone is an athlete and everyone crosses the finish line (Melanie will come find you!). JZ knew what I put into training and how excited I was to do IRONMAN Texas, and he knew how devastated I was not to be able to race. Yesterday at the pub he recognized this and “loaned” me his 2017 IRONMAN Texas finishers medal. He said it was just on loan to me until I finished my IRONMAN. I still don’t think I am doing a good job at putting into words what sets Powerhouse apart. But this. All of these gestures from all of these great athletes and coaches. Putting others first. Humility. Humbleness.

 I didn’t cross the finish line at IRONMAN Texas. I didn’t even get to start. But had it not been for my tribe, I wouldn’t have even made it this far. From Tammy running with me and being a great motivator on many occasions when she didn’t have to, to the Powerhouse family in the neighborhood (Tammy, Richain, Todd & Ceseilia) setting up aid stations when I did my long run, to Steven finding me on said long run to give me a ‘CAW-CAAAWW’, to the chats with Jason (WtGB), Bobby, Brice, Coach Mel, Coach Russ, to Natalie and Thea, Nicole, Lisa fixing me and trying to keep me together until race day. It sucks that I’ll have to start over, but I wouldn’t do it again with anyone else. I don’t know what the rest of the 2017 season has in store for me. I am hopeful to be able to race and am also hoping to still complete an  IRONMAN before the year is out.

#ironman #ironmantri #triathlon #ironmantriathlon #ironmantraining #triathlete

[torentialtribute]

Man Utd News: Solskjaer shows moody Mourinho how it’s done: This tour is so different to last year

The Ole Gunnar Solskjaer closed his pre-match press conference for Thursday's match against Tottenham in Shanghai, he looked at the top table at a young interpreter who had just finished translating his last answer for the Chinese media. "I cannot confirm what she said is good, but I think she deserves an applause," said the manager of Manchester United .

His mandatory audience and Solskjaer smiled as he walked for the burning heat and humidity of the training field at the Yuanshen Sports Center, joking with his former teammate Wes Brown on the way out.

It was a well-known scene on the tour of United by Perth Singapore and Shanghai this summer and one that can no longer differ from the tone of a miserable and moody Jose Mourinho put in the US a year ago. It left Mourinho at odds with his employers and led to a series of events that led to his resignation in December.

Solskjaer, on the other hand, hopes his performances here – they have defeated Perth Glory, Leeds United and Inter Milan without conceding a target for the Spurs competition – they will much better shape for the new season. United prepares to go home, Sportsmail watches two very contrasting tours.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer set up a tone of optimism the pre-season tour of Manchester United

MOOD

One senior United civil servant described Mourinho's downfall at United as & # 39; dead by a thousand cuts & # 39 ;. In the end he had done so much to let himself be fired that he just had to go.

There is little doubt that the deepest cut was inflicted on the US tour last summer and an extraordinary day in Michigan after United was beaten by Liverpool in the Big House with 4-1

In a cruel attack after the game, Mourinho claimed that fans could better stay away from such meaningless and friendly, the club criticized a lack of new signing sessions and moaned about the number of players from the first team available to him after the game. Worldcup.

United torrent pre-season was encapsulated last year by their 4-1 drubbing against Liverpool

It was crucial that Mourinho shut off the young players who had played alongside the star turn Alexis Sanchez. & # 39; Do you want him to be happy with the players he has around him? & # 39; At a club like United, so proud of their youthful development, which was seen as unforgivable.

A sour Mourinho had already collided with Paul Pogba in LA after refusing to praise the Frenchman for winning the World Cup, instead choosing to remind him that he now has the same effort and focus to United. It was typical of his negative thinking.

Although United had allowed Mourinho's wish to visit the US for the second time in a row and settle in Beverly Hills, it was not enough. The Portuguese coach cut a miserable figure during a joyless journey that set the tone for the next six months.

After ensuring that everyone would stay in Beverly Wilshire last summer, the Mourinho coaching team and the players booked The Assembly while other staff were staying at the Marriott.

Mourinho made players feel uncomfortable and not would allow them to enjoy their free time

They were concerned about socializing at night in case Mourinho saw them in a bar during one of his nightly walks. When he spoke to them the next morning, they realized that he would be closer than normal to see if he could smell alcohol in their breath.

By the time the tour had blown from Michigan to Miami, the envoy Mourinho had reached the breaking point. & # 39; This is true! & # 39; he could be heard screaming in his cell phone during a conversation in the lobby of the St Regis Bal Harbor hotel.

Fast forward 12 months and it is an infinitely happier United camp. Solskjaer also does not have all the new signing sessions he wants, but the Norwegian has taken it much better in his heart than his predecessor.

& # 39; I have not had any frustrated feeling at all, "he said Wednesday before the spurs game. We need to be patient. I believe in these players and I am sure we can do well. & # 39;

Solskjaer didn't get all the players he wanted this summer, but he believes in their current harvest

For United, Solskjaer is the opposite of Mourinho; a clubman who will never rock on the boat. There is of course no guarantee for success, but the toxic atmosphere that flooded United years ago has long since disappeared.

The new manager lacks discipline but has allowed his players to socialize more on tour. At Nobu in Perth, Aaron saw Wan-Bissaka, Dan James, and Scott McTominay stand on a chair during a team night and sing to their teammates as part of an initiation ceremony. On a day off, some players went shopping while Pogba and Victor Lindel visited the beach at Cottesloe.

Staff could be seen at night while having fun in the early hours at the casino at their luxury Crown hotel. Solskjaer and his coaching staff – Mike Phelan, Michael Carrick and Kieran McKenna – have created a sense of unity that contrasts sharply with last summer.

PROBLEMS

This tour is not without its issues. When United flew from Manchester with their luxury 88-seater jet to Manchester earlier this month, there was genuine concern that Pogba would not report for his service after stirring for a move and telling teammates he would stay away.

the Frenchman appeared properly and a situation that caused a great drama has largely disappeared, despite the efforts of his agent Mino Raiola. Pogba seems to have accepted that he stays and played well in each of the first three games.

However, Romelu Lukaku still has to perform due to an ankle injury that coincided with negotiations on the move to Inter Milan. Solskjaer, however, has taken Lukaku's absence into account, although it would be better for both parties to have his future resolved as quickly as possible.

United feared that Paul Pogba would not appear, but midfielder reported properly for season requirement

Pogba seems to have accepted he will stay in United and has played well in his ga mes

The other problem to hit United during this tour was the fear of health that led to spar-st team coach Mark Dempsey being hospitalized in Perth. The issue was dealt with promptly and sensitively by United, who arranged for Dempsey to return home.

Solskja's positive approach could not be much different than Mourinho who seemed to be pampered with a fight on every occasion in the US. None other than Anthony Martial who left the camp to be in Paris at the birth of his second child.

The two men were already at odds after Mourinho had made it clear that he wanted to sell the Frenchman his plate against the wishes. He was furious with Martial & # 39; s flash to France, and a problem that could have been dealt with more privately threatened to get out of hand.

The manager was already dissatisfied with the absence of so many players from the first team, and that only got worse when Sanchez was unable to fly out with the rest of the team at the start of the tour due to a visa problem.

TRAINING

Despite the easy nature training regime of Solskjaer United players are exposed more heavily than anything they have experienced under Mourinho.

There were 14 double sessions during nine days during the main training camp in Perth. High intensity runs increase by 50 percent to try to prepare the team for a very urgent game. The total distance traveled has increased by 10 percent. Solskjaer was surprised by the lack of conditioning of the players when he replaced Mourinho who in turn blamed his fitness coach Stefano Rapetti.

United has since been unable to train with the same intensity in the heat of Singapore and Shanghai. move from Perth, but there have been no complaints. Compare that with Mourinho's mood when the club traveled through China in 2016 during its first preseason.

When his pre-conference in Shanghai had to be moved due to the suffocating heat in the building, the new United boss sulked at the side of the field and had to be persuaded to come by and talk to the waiting media.

It was the form of things that came as Mourinho made in secret of what he thought about the facilities in China – and that was even before the Manchester derby in Beijing was canceled about the state of the field.

RESULTS

Nobody gets too carried away with preseason races. They are rarely a good indication of what will happen once the real business starts. But the ominous signs on tour last summer give an accurate picture of what would follow.

After an underwhelming draw with Club America in Phoenix and San Jose Earthquakes, a powerful United AC defeated Milan 9-8 on penalties in LA and ended with an encouraging 2-1 win over Real Madrid. But that 4-1 defeat to Liverpool in Michigan caused serious damage on and off the field.

So far this summer it has been relatively easy. United has won all three games and defeated Perth Glory 2-0, Leeds 4-0 and Inter Milan 1-0, preparing for Spurs. Solskjaer has the advantage of an almost complete team and two new acquisitions in Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Dan James, while the rise of teenage striker Mason Greenwood has been the biggest plus of all.

The collapse of last season after such a promising start under the former Cardiff manager is still fresh in the memory, and it would be reasonable to say that the jury is still at Solskjaer. But at least United head home in a positive state of mind this time.

Source link

#Man Utd News: Solskjaer shows moody Mourinho how it’s done: This tour is so different to last year"