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fabelyn · 4 years

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Xie Lian’s 3rd Ascension Meta

Alright, so I’ve had thoughts and headcanons over how Xie Lian achieved his 3rd ascension. I tried asking fandom first to make sure I hadn’t simply skipped over an explanation, but the consensus seems to be the novel never explained and people assume he went up on his own merit.

I agree, but for a while I was hung up over the very real possibility Xie Lian ascended through the will of Jun Wu.

After putting my thoughts in order, I’ve come to the final conclusion of:

Xie Lian ascended on his own merit, Hua Cheng played an integral part in it, and Jun Wu was aware he would do so and prepared for it. And a lesser possibility: Xie Lian might have ascended a bit earlier and Jun Wu slowed things down

I was very hung up on Jun Wu because it’s clear at least in my mind that Jun Wu knew Xie Lian was coming up. So now I’ll explain why Jun Wu didn’t ascend him, why he might have delayed the ascension and likely how Xie Lian ascended, among some other points.

This is longish and there be spoilers, so it’s behind a Read More:

First of all, methods of ascending:

-Jun Wu speeding things up (Xie Lian’s 1st ascension was this);

-Popularity, High Cultivation and Luck.

Why I assume Jun Wu clearly knew Xie Lian was going to ascend again and around when:

Jun Wu was stalking Xie Lian for 800 years. This is canon in my mind, given he knew all about Xie Lian’s exploits and sent him on missions ready made to attack him using his obscure past. Ban Yue pass was this (certainly one can argue he sent him there to create further conflict between XL and Pei Ming, but it was too much coincidence, especially considering the rest) and the mission where Jun Wu set him up to work with the one God who would have quite the beef with XL was the nail to the head. XL never used his face or original name during his Guoshi days: Jun Wu had to have been following him.

Furthermore, the first arc was readily prepared for Xie Lian when he went up. He barely ascended and already there was this... gift wrapped middle finger mission waiting for him.

That mission was clearly made for XL alone, it had: that very specific boy ghost with the face disease, Cuocuo, a ghost that was using the power of a Ghost King that was Xie Lian’s cousin and oh yeah, the Ghost was pissy because she had given her all and been abandoned (ay what a coincidental theme eh?)

The Ghost had been doing her thing for a long time, but coincidentally only recently it reached the point where Heaven had to act. Coincidentally the ghost boy and CuoCuo also happened to walk in around the same time. Too much coincidence, so clearly this was set up and fueled by Jun Wu.

But there’s the thing: the ghost boy hand’t come in, say, the day before XL reached the mountain, he’d been there a while...longer than between XL ascending and him accepting the mission and reaching the place.

Remember also that Xie Lian was wearing the shackles. It’s not a stretch to assume Jun Wu can track him through them, especially given he was able to appear in Xie Lian’s hotel room without XL having told anyone where he was located, much less his room number.. That always bothered me: how did he find both? It’s above him to have put a tracking device on Xie Lian.

So, Jun Wu had set the first mission up before Xie Lian ascended. Moreso given whe XL ascended he was “oh so coincidentally” away and thus this mission had no one to take care of but XL. Moreover, the whole situation was a powder keg: Jun Wu couldn't randomly set it up and see if maybe, maybe XL would randomly ascend in time that he could use it to fuck with him.

So, with this, either Jun Wu was the one to ascend Xie Lian, or he knew it would be happening.

Why it wasn’t Jun Wu ascending him:

a) There was no real reason to. It’s not as if Xie Lian’s mindset had changed, and he wasn’t even reeling from a tense situation (like being buried alive, being framed for murdering people, being mufasad trampled to death). There was no reason for Jun Wu to decide “fuck it, time for abuse and mind games Round 3″ unless 800 years was too long and he got impatient.

b) Xie Lian never questions his own ascension. He isn’t shocked that Jun Wu isn’t around when he comes up; yet if XL assumed his ascension was by Jun Wu, wouldn’t he expect the guy to be around to talk? Moreover, he never talks to Jun Wu about why he ascended. If XL knew his actions had not been enough to go up by himself, then he’d certainly have asked Jun Wu why bring him up now, or even suggest he shouldn’t have and XL deserves more suffering. He did none of that, instead focusing on everything else. So, even the humble XL didn’t think JW had a hand in it.

Jun Wu might have, in fact, delayed Xie Lian’s ascension, but to get to that possibility, let’s first deal with how XL went up again.

How Xie Lian ascended a 3rd time, and why Hua Cheng was integral to it:

@indelibleme has put their own headcanon in very good words, and I don’t disagree so here are their comments:

According to HOB, you have to 3 things to ascend. Luck, High Cultivation, Popularity (Being well known basically). So the first time is obvious - he was a genius in cultivation, his luck was said to very good, and he was a crown prince so popularity is a given. The second time, I’m guessing was a combination of having fought a Calamity (Bai Wuxiang), driven off the accumulated ghostly spirits (albeit with the help of Wuming) and he did it front of a lot of Yong'an people. He was also cultivating on the side, so that’s probably the combination that lead him to ascend. After which tho, he willingly sealed away two things - his luck and his cultivation. So really, the only other way he could ascend is popularity. Which is tricky in the beginning as he’s a unlucky crown prince who is technically “wanted” on the mortal plane. But as we know, he does attain a lot of popularity. As the Guoshi Feng Xin and the Ban Yue General Xie Hua. Also, cultivation is not just spiritual but also physical prowess. And from what we see later, Xie Lian has enough physical prowess to battle the young Crown Prince of Yong'an and Hua Cheng as well, from when he stopped their fight. He also claimed he would win overwhelmingly against that Crown Prince. All this without any spiritual energy. Plus with his luck sealed away, it seems it took him 800 years to accumulate enough of the other two to ascend again.

Summary: You need luck, popularity or high cultivation to ascend. Xie Lian had two sealed away, so he could only have ascended through popularity and physical cultivation.

Although Xie Lian roamed the world without using his real identity, he still left his mark through aliases such as Ban Yue General and Guoshi. And he managed to get rid of two Venerables of Empty Words, which would get him well known in the ghost realm even if no one knew who he was. We also know (see: Wind God being assumed female) popularity isn’t necessarily tied to your real self. That said, that even his name wasn’t tied to this feats must have harmed him popularity even if not turned it moot for ascending purposes.

Enter Hua Cheng.

Hua Cheng built a goddamn Ten Thousand Statue Temple, very clearly and specifically for Xie Lian. And would later go on to build the Thousand Lantern Temple, because nothing is too extra for Hua Cheng.

Let’s also remember how many lanterns Hua Cheng sent off in Xie Lian’s name: XL won the lantern competition. Considering how fiercely (and again, how extra he is) Hua Cheng loves Xie Lian, should we really assume he hadn’t done this until now? Perhaps he had been doing it for a while, but because Xie Lian hadn’t been officially a god, the lanterns were never counted.

If Xie Lian’s own deeds (by way of his hidden identity) were not sufficient to ascend him, Hua Cheng’s love and devotion, and his intense demonstration of those in Xie Lian’s name, had to be enough popularity to push him back up.

And to top it off was his physical prowess.

Why Jun Wu might have, in fact, delayed his ascension:

This is my weakest conjecture, based on trying to explain one last gap.

So if we agree that Xie Lian went up by popularity... his ascension timing is still off.

Unless the Lantern temple had just been built (doubtful, Hua Cheng wouldn’t have spent even a month without someplace near he could worship Xie Lian), then there was no recent popularity increase (or even cultivation or luck increase) to explain his sudden ascension. Ban Yue pass was the most “recent” one and that was a 100 years before. The stint with the Empty words was also, according to the text “many years ago”.

So unless Xie Lian is keeping a bit feat that boosted his popularity, or Hua Cheng did something massive in his name recently... he should have ascended before he did, or waited for more popularity.

Same with physical prowess: should we believe he only acquired peak physical cultivation after 800 years?

If it wasn’t Hua Cheng or a big deed/cultivation the plot isn’t telling us... it had to be Jun Wu.

Perhaps by Ban Yue’s tragic end Xie Lian had amassed enough sufficient popularity to ascend, but would Jun Wu want him to? With the same frame of mind and no plan on JW’s part to tear it apart?

Maybe Jun Wu wanted him to keep Xie Lian suffering, in his denial that Xie Lian would not turn up like him eventually. Or maybe he simply wanted time to prepare “fuck you, bitch” plots for Xie Lian when he came up. Or maybe Xie Lian’s right to an ascension could not be stopped forever...

As @indelibleme has said to me: the last ascension was " Xie Lian's "third path" to solving a problem”, instead of falling into the ways Jun Wu wanted.

So Jun Wu delayed it, prepared a mission to rattle him and bother Pei Ming, then let him come up while being conveniently away just as the mission had conveniently come up.

They said his third ascension was the most violent, as if the very foundation of Heaven was shaking. We assume it was, of course, the bones that made the foundation sensing Xie Lian had come to change things. But maybe we can add to it that the violence was also a result of his delayed dues: Xie Lian rising when he was much more popular and physically stronger than a God usually is when he ascends, because it was held off.

(And the one thing to fall on Mu Qing being a clock would have the added simbolism -beyond the whole guilt and past symbolism it already had- of representing the time that was taken away from Xie Lian by Jun Wu which Jun Wu could no longer control)

And this ends my observations. This is my explanation for his 3rd ascension, that to me fixes the issues I’ve had with the whole thing (Jun Wu’s preparedness, timing, etc). This fits the theme of HOB: of Xie Lian finding his own path -despite Jun Wu’s meddling- through his kindness and helped by Hua Cheng’s love.

Hopefully I won’t have turned out to have skipped information that invalidates this.

#heaven official's blessing #tian guan ci fu #xie lian #tgcf #hob #hualian #jun wu #hua cheng #hob meta

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dadolorian · 4 years

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Just like me - Part 3

A/N: Here it is, part 3, i hope this makes up for their little split in p2 Credits: Thank you @oloreaa for being my Beta reader/editor !

Title: Just Like me Fandom: Prospect (2018) Ship: Ezra/Reader Warning: More talk of injuries/mental issues as a result. Word count: 6K + KILL ME Master List Request status AO3 Link Previous part Next part - coming soon

It was a good year and a half later when you landed back on central next. Almost two years since you had met Ezra originally. Simultaneously feeling like a lifetime had passed and feeling like you had just seen him yesterday.

True to your word, you had taken the next job you could, taking a standard contract to mine a newly discovered mineral deposit on a sulfur heavy moon for scientific research. It was a decent enough pay once you handed in your harvest to the research team. It didn’t provide you the rush that Aurelac harvesting did, though. It was the kind of job that was a ‘safe bet’, not a gamble, like it was on the Green. You might have waited for something more exciting, but you had wanted to leave central as soon as possible after you had said your goodbyes to Ezra. Wanting to push the memory of him away as quickly as you could. Stupidly believing that out of sight meant out of mind. You followed that job up with another on the same planet, harvesting a highly conductive metal similar to gold, it was used in electronics. It was not the most dazzling payload you had ever collected, nothing exciting or too complicated like the Aurelac, it was backbreaking and tiring, but it filled your pockets well. Despite it being the busiest job you had ever been on, constantly surrounded by the other harvesters on the teams or the research scientists, it was the loneliest you had ever felt on the job.The loss of Ezra’s companionship screamed loudest at you during that time, much to your annoyance. You had taken the job to distract yourself from him, not lament even more. As you laid in the crowded communal bunk, surrounded by people, physically closer to more people than you ever had been in your entire life, but more alone than ever. Ezra had made you feel like the only other person in the entire galaxy when you spoke, that feeling had not faded due to distance or time. What was once something that made you feel special, important, the center of the entire universe, now made you feel isolated and lost, forgotten, with no Ezra around, feeling like you were the only other person in the universe suddenly became soul crushing. You longed to see him more than all the points in the galaxy, you dreamt about losing yourself in a conversation with him once more, of becoming bewitched in his sparkling dark eyes and alluring, crooked smile. Oh to simply have him curled up beside you on your bunk, not even speaking, just there. You did not slowly start to forget about him as you had originally feared you would.

The return to Central was significantly different this time around, your days aboard the ship home made you more resentful of your past self, as you wandered the halls the two of you used to explore. You couldn’t bear to spend extended time in your quarters, that was where you had enjoyed his company the most, choosing to be in there only for sleep. The departure was much quicker than the last time, you pushed yourself through the busy crowd gathered in the ships entrance foyer to get out as quickly as possible. While the weather was nothing to note when you had last departed, this time it was raining, and dark, well into the night. The ship had landed much later than scheduled due to a passing meteor shower which only dampened your mood further. You had not once stopped thinking about him, you had been convinced you would get over him eventually, you often scolded yourself for how much you yearned for him, the two of you were never anything more than friends but you longed for him the way you imagined you would have a lover. It was like he was your other half, and now a piece of you was missing, ironic for two people who had both physically lost parts of themselves. Returning to the place you had last seen him did nothing to change those feelings. You pushed it away once more, cowardly retreating away from your feelings once again when given the opportunity to make things right. You knew he had to be somewhere on the planet, huddled up in a little home with Cee, you hoped so at least. He was ready to put so much work into becoming her guardian, it would be a huge disappointment if he had been unsuccessful. It would be so easy, to just go grab a phone and call, you knew the number by heart now. You would often trade your books for new ones on a job but you refused to part ways with the one Ezra gave you, even if the messy scrawl was etched into your brain forever. It was the only reminder you had of him, the only proof that he had ever actually existed in your life. You were never able to separate from it, no matter how much you had wanted to push his memory away. You passed the payphones, considering it for the briefest of moments before the call of the job listing board won out to you. Calling him meant confronting the emotions you were trying to bury, and facing your fear. ‘Coward,’ Ezra's voice echoed in your mind, the same thought that you heard every time you considered reaching out. You were terrified of what he would say if you ever saw him again. Shaking those thoughts out of your head, you made your way over to the flickering, beat up screen displaying all the departures, groaning as you went through them all. The next sling out for your company was more than a month away, meaning you had two options, stick around and take a break, or change to a different company. If you changed, you would forgo your 2nd class lodgings and ship, you didn’t have a hush deal with anyone else, so you would have to rent a pod just like every other prospector, your own quarters and ship was a luxury you did not want to pass up. You didn’t even have the chance to use your own ship for the last job, it seemed like a waste to not use it. You groaned loudly in annoyance, running your hands through your hair as you relented that you would have to wait for the time being, last time you never had the opportunity to revel in the spoils of your harvest.

You supposed this time you could, maybe that would be a better distraction. You trudged out of the arrivals and departures terminal you were in, past the wall of payphones again, hesitating for just a moment before pushing on, through the rain to walk to the strip where you knew there would be hotels. You didn’t bother with a cab, the strip wasn’t that far away and you were cheap, you could walk the distance. Your tired body protested however, the long boring trip after months of backbreaking work, mixed with the rain and delay in arrival, it all wore you down, the emotional baggage you were carrying certainly didn’t help much either. A walk that should have taken you five minutes tops once you left the space port took you close to twenty. The light rain turned into a downpour. It couldn’t get any worse.

Of course, when someone says ‘it can’t get any way worse’ the universe always seems to prove them wrong. And it seemed the ‘merciful’ universe was conspiring against you, because as you arrived on the hotel strip you were angered to find two were locked, no one bothered to come to the door no matter how many times you rung the service bell, one was shut for construction, another two were out of rooms and the last had a rather snooty desk clerk who decided, just by looking at you, that you couldn't afford their luxuries and you were promptly shooed away. You gave him a piece of your mind as you were escorted away, angrily flipping the clerk off as security escorted you out. This was the industrial district, not a place where high end clients tended to stay. You almost cried as you walked the streets alone, too tired to try and find a new place on foot or even formulate a plan. You were all but ready to collapse in a bus stop or under a bridge, ready to admit defeat and sleep anywhere that was dry when a buzzing light caught the corner of your eye. A singular, beat up old payphone. His number flashed in your head again. You were all but ready to push the temptation away until you realized you were already inside and dialing. Perhaps you were just a little too tired and desperate to stop. Your stubbornness vanishes in hopes for a dry, warm place to sleep. You held your breath in anticipation and dread, a potent mix of emotions swirled through your mind as you waited for it to either ring off or for him to answer. You weren’t sure which one you wanted more. “Hmm? Who the fuck is calling me so god damn early in the morning?” a familiar, tired voice groaned. Your breath hitched. “I swear you telemarketers never understand people need to sleep, I have to wake up early tomorrow- today I imagine for wor-” “Ezra” You whispered, voice barely there, interrupting his tired rambling. “A-Angel?” He gasped, sounding considerably more awake and alert. The two of you listened in silence, him waiting for your response, you struggling to talk. “Y-yeah, it's me,” you sighed, eventually breaking the silence, curling in on yourself to protect yourself from the cold and his reaction. “W-well not that I'm not happy to hear from you, because I am, exceedingly so, but what the matter? Why are you calling?” he asked cautiously, hopefully. “I-uh, I landed back in central like an hour ago...” you whimpered just a bit “I have nowhere else to go. No Hotels and no ride...” You heard some quick shuffling on his end, it sounded like fabric, sheets maybe? He was getting dressed, your tired mind eventually concluded. “Where are you? I’m on my way,” he said. Nerves and panic overcame you for a moment, suddenly faced with the realization that you would see him, as much as you wanted too, you were too scared to face the reality of being confronted by him again. “N-no, there's no need for that,” you stammered. “I shouldn’t have bothered you, I'm sorry I woke you-” “Don’t hang up!” he begged, pleading. It reminded you of the last night you saw him. Guilt stabbed you in the stomach and twisted. “Please, it's no trouble at all….. I’m not letting you sleep out there all alone, in this rain nonetheless. I am begging you, please let me help you out of this situation. I just want to make sure you're safe, so please, where are you?” You hesitated, biting your lip and listened to his deep, calming breaths before telling him your current location, tiredly reading dim, fluttering neon signs to help him figure out your exact position. He sounded pleased as he was getting ready to race out the door, apparently you weren’t too far from his home. He had to hang up as he headed out, begging you not to go anywhere before he galloped out his door. Once you were greeted with the dial tone once more you hung up the phone and sunk down slowly to the floor of the payphone, too tired to keep standing and soaked to the core as you waited for him. You weren’t sure how much time had passed, but you had almost fallen asleep, shivering in the cold when soft knocking on the glass roused you. There he stood, on the other side of the glass, drenched to high heavens, goofy, crooked grin you had missed so much, he greeted you with a wave of his one arm. He opened the door with a struggle, you shivered more as the cold night air hit you, and he helped you to your feet. “Easy, Angel, let's get you out this cold and into something dry,” he said, taking your bag from you and leading you in the apparent direction of his home, with his arm securely around you. His hand kept caressing you as you walked, and he constantly glanced at you as if checking you were really there. It was a good thing he lived so close, because apparently he didn’t have a vehicle. You supposed that made sense, driving with one arm would be difficult. He helped you walk all the way there, encouraging you to walk just a bit further each time you sagged tiredly. Before too long you were pulled into his small apartment, too tired to take it in and ready to collapse once more, on the floor if you had to, soaking wet or not. “Angel, I'm going to run the shower for you,” he said, setting your bag down. “I know you’re tired, but you are soaked to the bone. So let's get you warm and dry, hm?” he suggested leading you gently into an equally small bathroom. He ran the shower for you before going off to collect some dry clothes and a towel. “Here, get yourself all warmed up, you can wear these, your bag’s just as soaked as you are I am afraid, it doesn’t fare well for any of your spare clothes,” he said, handing them over to you. Grey sweats and a plain black t-shirt, they were his. “I’ll make the couch up , and you can take my bed.” You began to tiredly protest, mumbling an insistence that you would take the couch, but he wouldn’t allow that. Instructing you to get yourself warm and dry before you got sick. The only reason you relented, apart from being too tired to put up a decent argument, was because he wasn’t going to shower and warm himself up until you were done. Getting him sick wouldn’t help your guilt. Once you were finished in the bathroom, dressed in the spare clothes of his you walked out, half dead, he led you to the bed, helping your groggy mind remove your prosthetic, he placed a towel under it and leant it against the wall upside down. It was something you had never told him to do, but he had most likely noticed you doing it after every shower, back on your return from the Green. A gentle hand tucked you in, hushed whispers to you of how happy he was to see you again as he placed a soft kiss to your forehead and wished you sweet dreams. You weren’t sure how much your tired mind was conjuring it up, but you felt him caress your cheek tenderly before finally leaving. You were quick to drift off, the smell of him surrounding you and the sound of the shower running relaxing you and letting you finally succumb to sleep.

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Happy chatter and a boisterous laugh awoke you the next morning. Alarmed, you sat up quickly trying to figure out just where you were. The room was unfamiliar, a bed with worn, plain sheets, a dresser partially opened with unfolded clothes spilling out, your prosthetic leaning against the wall. The bedside table and the dresser had multiple novels piled on top of them, but otherwise the room lacked any other personal touches that might have helped your sleep delayed brain. You were alone, and in clothes that weren't yours. Thoroughly confused, you were about to panic, before the smell hit you, a familiar masculine smell you had not forgotten, even after such a long time. A smell you associated with safety, books and a singular warm arm embracing you. Ezra. That’s right, you had called him out of desperation last night. You listened to the voices in the next room, you recognised them as both Cee And Ezra. They were laughing together, you couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, but they were happy, relaxed. You sat in silence, trying to figure out what to do. There was that stubborn side of you that wanted to run, to double down on the stupid belief that you had kept since you last saw him, simply because you were too prideful and afraid to admit to yourself that you were wrong. But realistically, you knew you could run anymore, you were in his bed, you would have to face him and accept the truth: that you had fucked up, that cutting him off had not made anything easier, that you had been miserable for the past year and a half, even though you had ended your friendship with him to avoid that happening. ‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder’ you thought to yourself as you heard what sounded like the front door close, and the muffle conversation ended. A few seconds later a gentle knock rapped at the door, Ezra cautiously poked his head into the room. A smile spread on his face when he saw you sitting up and awake. “Angel!” he praised, allowing himself to enter the room. He sat himself on the edge of the bed and took one of your hands in his, stroking your knuckles softly. “I have just made some breakfast for the Little bird, there's still plenty left, would you like some?” he asked, the familiar charming smile that you had missed so much still plastered on his face. You sighed and nodded, giving a timid smile back, put your leg on and quietly followed him out into the main living area, still holding his hand as he led you to your seat at the kitchen counter. Now actually awake you took note of the space. It was small, nothing fancy, just the basics in terms of furniture. A very small lounge area right by the front door, the kitchen directly to the right, with a small island and bar,. A similar sized table and matching chairs stood by the windows, and three doors in the little ‘hallway’ by the kitchen, the bathroom, Ezra's room and what you would assume was Cee's room. The only personal touches around the place was a mess of papers and more piles of books, just like in his room. You were too busy looking to realize Ezra had been speaking as he cooked up some breakfast, it was pancakes. “-And Birdie’s hoping to apply for a literary scholarship, she has the aspiration to become an author, surprise surprise. I instructed her that she has to dedicate at least one of her books to me, and that I intended to get her first copy, signed, mind you.” You managed to catch the end of what he was saying as he finished serving up your breakfast, putting the plate in front of where you were sitting at the little counter bar. He leaned onto the counter opposite you with a smile, allowing you to dig in. You ate in silence, appreciating just how much better the food was compared to the ship you had just gotten off. You were steeling yourself for the conversation that was coming, tension hanging in the air. “I missed you,” he eventually said after you had been sitting silently for too long. You didn’t know what to say, as usual, so you just kept on eating awkwardly, not looking at him. Mentally scolding yourself, ignoring your issues had proven to be ineffective, why do you bother keeping it up? “Please don’t tell me you already regret calling me Angel?” He sighed at your lack of response, brushing some of your messy bed hair from your face so he could see your eyes better. You shook your head. “N-no, I just don’t know what to say. I’m not like you Ezra. I can’t just..say how I really feel.” Frustrated with yourself, you looked down at your lap. “Did you miss me?” he asked, voice a mixture of hope and nerves. You sighed loudly, did he really think you didn’t? “Of course I did, Ezra,” you whispered, looking up and meeting his gaze. “I have found myself unable to stop thinking about you Angel,” he confessed, rubbing the back of his neck and turning away from your gaze. “Nothing I have done has quelled the longing in my heart for your company. I am happy, with this new life I have built with my Little Bird, but I must concede that I have not been successful in my endeavors to find a friendship that meant half as much as yours did to me.” Yet again you were at a loss for words, tears welled up in your eyes and you bit back a sob. “Angel?” he asked, concern thick in his voice when you let out the chocked sound and the dam inside you broke, the tidal wave of emotions crashing through you that had been pent up inside you for the past year and a half. He was quick to round the counter and pull you off your seat and into his embrace, soothing you with gentle strokes to your back. “Easy, Angel, easy,” he soothed. “Tell me what is upsetting you so?” You shook your head, unable to articulate yourself the way he seemed to do so with ease. “Are you upset about seeing me again?” he tried, you shook your head no again. “N-no, I’m happy to see you again, Ezra, really,” you mumbled into his shirt as you continued to cry. “But these are not happy tears, Angel,“ he pointed out, cupping your face gently and directing your gaze to his. He brushed a tear away with his thumb. “You are not crying because you are happy to see me. Which perturbs me. I beg of you to tell me what’s wrong?” “I’m just…” you trailed off trying to find the words, he was looking at you with such patience and support, silently encouraging you to continue. How could you have ever pushed him away? How could you hurt him like that? You did not deserve his kindness, his care, and yet, after pushing him away for no other reason than stubbornness and pride he still, still dropped everything to come help you out, even in the middle of the night in the pouring rain. You wanted to confess every thought, every regret for what you had done, proclaim to him how wrong you had been and that you were an idiot for not listening to him. But those words were trapped, all you could manage was a quiet whisper of “I’m sorry.” His body slumped as he let out a breath you didn’t notice he had been holding. His soft smile grew as he shook his head and pulled you in a tight embrace again. He placed a soft kiss on the crown of your head. ”And here i thought something was wrong,” he sighed, gently nuzzling the top of your head with his cheek. “I forgive you, of course I forgive you,” he murmured, not letting you go. He was just too good to you. “You were right,” your voice tight and eyes filled with more tears that threatened to spill. Your fingers gripped the material of his shirt tightly. ”I-I was just being stubborn and there was no reason to cut you out. How can you even look at me? All it did was hurt me more and I let it happen. I hurt you, Ezra.” He kissed the crown of your head once more. “That you did,” he began,“But I forgive you anyway, Angel. You did not do it out of malice or rancor. I cannot blame you for a misguided belief that you were protecting yourself, as much as your actions pained me, not when you have accepted your faults and have come to amend them.” “B-but I didn’t,” you admitted in shame, burying your face in his chest. “I had multiple opportunities to call you before last night, I passed them all up until my circumstances changed and I became desperate. I was actively trying to avoid seeing you again until I ran out of options.” “Such a stubborn woman,” he murmured, rocking you ever so gently in his embrace. “I truly do not care about any of that now, Angel. All that matters is that I was gifted the pleasure of seeing you again. That you did eventually decide to grace my life with your presence once more." Ezra beamed at you, before continuing, "I have sorely missed your company and I am simply too overjoyed about your return to me to even entertain thoughts about anything else." He paused, shifting slightly. "Just please tell me, now that you are here that you will not leave me once more?” Your arms cautiously wrapped around his middle. “I’ll have to go back to work eventually,” you muttered. “Not like that Angel, you know what i mean,” he said, cupping your face again so you could meet his gaze. “Tell me you won’t cut me out again,” he said, brow stern and eyes searching yours, searching for a truthful response.

Your lip trembled.”I won’t,” you whispered, voice quiet but resolve clear. “Okay, good,” he sighed, releasing his gentle hold on your face. “Then that is all that matters. We can put the past behind us and continue on.” “Just like that?” you asked, struggling to accept he was willing to forget everything that went wrong. “Do you want to sit down and talk about it?” He asked. “I am more than willing to, if that's what you wish Angel.” “M-maybe not right now,” you sigh, not quite ready to resolve all that emotional baggage just yet. “When you’re ready, then,” he said, soft encouragement in his voice, kissing your forehead and releasing his hold on you. “Come, let's get you sorted. Your belongings are still soaked, we can get them all washed and dried,” he hummed, trying to cheer you up. “I can do it at the hotel, when I find one,” you said, not wanting to trouble him. “H-hotel?” he asked, “I hope I do not come across as too selfish but I would very much like you to stay here. If you’re receptive to that idea?” “This is your home Ezra” you pointed out. “I don’t want to invade.” “Nonsense, you are more than welcome. I know it’s not fancy like some of the hotels you can stay at, so I understand if you would choose one over my humble little apartment, but in all honesty I was hoping you would stay, if only for a short while.” “What about Cee? This is her home too,” you pointed out, brows furrowed in worry. “I spoke to Birdie this morning before she left for school. She is more than happy to have you stay as well,” he said, folding up the blankets still thrown on the couch as best he could. “I made sure of that. I would never invite someone to stay if she was uncomfortable with the idea.” “I don’t want to trouble you any further-” you started. “It’s no trouble, please Angel,” he said, cutting you off. “I am asking because I want to, and I am not ready to say goodbye to you yet, even if it is just for a few hours.You can even take my room-” “Keeva no, Ezra,” you sighed. “I’ll stay, alright. I don’t want to say goodbye just yet either, but I am not going to make you sleep on the couch in your own home.” “I am quite alright with it Angel,” he said. “Yeah right,” you scoffed. I can tell just by looking at that thing you don’t fit on it properly. I’m smaller, I'll actually fit on it. And that’s final,” you said poking him in the chest. He was about to protest again, ready to insist but you interrupted him before he had a chance to voice himself. ”If you do not accept me sleeping on the couch I will go find a hotel,” you said, tone stern as you crossed your arms, challenging him to continue. He sighed, giving up. Reluctantly letting you take the couch so you would stay.

It felt good to have him back in your life, helping you once more, and you him, there was still a little tension between the two of you which you would have to talk about eventually, later, as you had agreed. For the time being, it was just nice to have him back. He helped you with all your wet clothes in his apartment buildings tiny laundry room, the two of you sitting opposite the running machines on the scuffed ground side by side as you waited, catching up. Absence had done nothing to wear at the connection you shared. He told you of the difficult process of becoming Cee’s legal guardian, the hoops he had to jump through. The desperate search for a stable job and apartment so he could provide for her. You felt another pang of guilt, having abandoned him in such a difficult time, but he assured you he felt no ill will. He now had 2 jobs, one meaneal labour job that wasn’t so difficult he couldn’t do it with one arm, and another at the spaceport you had just departed from, he was essentially a security guard. It was basic work, he had told you, nothing he took particular pride or passion in, just something to pay the bills and provide for Cee until she went to college. He confessed just how much he missed prospecting, he chased that thrill of a good harvest just as you did. He begged you to tell him tales of your last exploit back out into the stars. “Sorry Ezra, my last job was far from a thrilling adventure” you huffed, amused. “No gems or exciting digs. Just backbreaking labour to mine some standard ore, and help a research team dig up a newly discovered mineral.” “Angel, that sounds more than stimulating to me,” he said with a grin, stupid puppy dog eyes sparkling at you in hopes of a tale. “Tell me,” he urged excitedly, puppy dog eyes sparkling at you that you couldn’t resist. You sighed. “I don’t think I've ever been on a job so physically demanding. Nothing like the drops down to the Green. It was this huge team led by the researchers,” you explained, eyes cast down in thought as you tried to remember details. “It was… lonely,” you admitted casting your gaze down. “There was a potential for a pharmaceutical use for the mineral, it was difficult to collect, and fragile, so they hired big teams to collect as much as possible. Huge professional gig so everything was provided, and we got paid by the day as well as bonuses if we managed to collect more than the minimum requirement.” He whistled at that in awe. “Damn Angel, that sounds like that meant one hell of a payload when you were done then.” You hummed in agreement. “Yeah, not going to lie, it was a little boring compared to Aurelac harvesting, and difficult, but it was more than a decent pay,” you huffed in amusement before continuing. “The next one was basic, just, mining for ore. Standard kinda job, not one of the thrill seekers things either.” “We all get those kinds of jobs every now and then,” he nodded, leaning back and closing his eyes. You could imagine him reliving the memories of his former life behind those closed lids. Playfully nudging his shoulder to get his attention, you grinned at him when he brought his wistful eyes to meet yours. “You’ll be back there, soon enough,” you encouraged. A sad smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I truly want that to happen, Angel,” he sighed, tearing his gaze away to stare off at the opposite wall. “I must confide that I have begun to fear my severed arm has proven to be far too arduous to deal with certain tasks. I have taught myself to become ambidextrous in my writing but there are things I have discovered are too… difficult to accomplish now that I am without part of myself.” You listened to his concern with an understanding smile before leaning against him, resting your cheek on his shoulder, looking up into his sorrowful eyes that were staring into the distance. “Do you remember when I told you it gets easier?” you asked, barely above a whisper, he glanced at you before nodding slightly, sighing as he did so. “I meant it,” you continued. “It will get easier Ezra, when you get a prosthetic, well then, the world better watch out.” You took his hand in both of yours, giving it an encouraging squeeze and smiling at him. “What if I can't?” he asked, brows furrowed in worry , giving away a hidden fear. “What if I do not bounce back? And I stay this broken shell of my former self?” You rolled your eyes, he was the dramatic sort sometimes. “Ezra, look at me,” you whispered as he tore his gaze away again, you cupped his face lightly to bring it back to you. You weren't one to initiate physical affection from him, but his absence had made you crave it so much during your time apart, that you were willing to throw a little caution to the wind. “You’re not some ‘shell’-” you started, cut off when huffed and rolled his own eyes, not agreeing with you. ”Hey now, I never knew you before this,” you gestured to his missing arm with one hand. ”I didn’t know Ezra before, I only know this Ezra." To underline that, you poked him in the chest with a single finger. "And I like this Ezra.” You playfully flicked his forehead afterwards, laughing as he pouted at you. “Don’t pout at me like that, mister,” you snickered as he rubbed his forehead. “Look, ok, I don't think you're this shell, in fact, I wish I could express just how amazing I think you are, Ezra,” you started again, shy smile on your face. “But I know how you’re feeling, I’ve been there too, remember? I’m just like you. So if you’re having any self deprecating thoughts because you’re an amputee, then I'm afraid I will have to take that as a personal offence, because if you’re less of a man for losing your arm, then by that logic, I’m less of a woman for losing my leg.” Raising your chin at him, you stared him in the eyes, challenge written in your face. He looked at you, aghast, eyebrows raised and eyes wide. “Angel, I would never think that way of you-” “Good, then you can’t think that way about yourself either. It’s not allowed,” you said sternly, not allowing him any room to argue. “You lost an arm, so what? It’s a part of your life now and you just have to deal with it.“ He queried his brow at you. “I think I prefer your gentle consolations over this,” he mumbled, making you snort with laughter. “Sometimes, it helps to have a dose of reality. Recovery is a long process and it can’t always be soft encouragement. Sometimes it’s better to give you a shove than to hold your hand,” you said, letting go of his hand to empathize the point. “I like when you hold my hand, Angel,” he whispered, hand reaching to take yours back but hesitated. “Makes me feel safer than I have felt in a long time,” he said, you weren't sure if he was talking metaphorically or not, but either way it made your stomach flip. “Well,” you began, feeling a little flushed over his innocent little comment, voice pitched for a moment as you composed yourself. “You need a shove right now, but I hope me standing at the sidelines shouting that you can do it is a good enough substitute.” “So long as you are there Angel, it's more than enough,” he smiled, resting his hand on your knee instead. The machines in front of you finally finished their cycles, bringing the two of you two back to reality. You smiled and patted his shoulder before getting up off the floor so you could remove the clothes from the machines.

You couldn’t remember being so happy since the last good day the two of you had spent together. He helped you hang up your clothes on a small drying frame in his apartment, he playfully waggled his eyebrows at you as he hung up your underwear, to which you were mortified and threw a wet sock at his smug face as he cracked up.

He had called in sick from work that morning, you later found out, so he could spend the whole day with you. You sat with him on his couch, chatting with him as if the two of you had never been separated. Cee returned home late afternoon, it warmed your heart to watch Ezra get up and greet her with a small hug and ask her about her day, offering her help with any homework she had. She said hi to you, a soft smile on her face as she made her way to her room to do her homework, refusing Ezras offer of help.

She emerged again close to dinner time, Ezra having ordered takeout to ‘celebrate’ your return. You were left alone together as Ezra went to collect your meals at the apartment gate. “It’s uh, really nice to see you again,” Cee said to fill in the slightly tense silence. The two of you never had a meaningful conversation with each other, accepting that the other just came with having Ezra in your life. “It’s nice to see you again too,” you said truthfully, giving her a soft smile. She shook her head, “no, i mean, yeah. It is nice to see you but I meant, I’m happy your back. Da- Ezra has been kinda mopey, since he last saw you. He’s happy again, is what I was trying to say. He’s missed you.” “I’ve missed him too,” you said, charmed that she cared so much for her adoptive father's happiness. “He hasn’t shut up about you you know?” she said rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly as she revealed something Ezra probably wouldn’t want her telling you. “He kept asking me what he could have done differently, or wondering what you were up to, he was really worried about you, not knowing where you were.” You felt a pang of guilt hit your chest. “I didn’t mean to hurt him Cee, I hope you know that.” “Yeah, I do,” she sighed. “ I wasn’t happy to see him so upset, but no one was angry at you. Anyway, it doesn’t matter now, he’s happy now and you’re back together again.” “Together?” you balked. “W-we’re not together, just… friends. That’s all we are, friends,” you clarified feeling flustered and your face heating up. Cee snorted. “You’re just like him I swear-” she laughed , shaking her head as the front door opened and Ezra returned, brown paper bag in hand, declaring dinner was served with a cheerful tone. You didn’t have a chance to ask Cee what she meant, distracting yourself from your slightly flustered mind by helping Ezra serve and carry everything over to the couch where the two of you sat. Cee sitting adjacent from you on the floor, a content smile on her face as she watched Ezra happily chat with you while the three of you ate your meals.

TAG LIST @oloreaa @chaotic-noceur

#prospect #prospect 2018 #ezra #ezra from prospect #ezra x reader #ezra x you #ezra x ofc #my fic #JLM #Pedro pascal

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daveword1 · 3 years

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Three years ago I was in a serious wreck that wasn’t my fault. It resulted in three horrible back surgeries that culminated with a 12 level fusion with rods and screws. I’ve been on narcotic pain meds the whole time. I’m finally experiencing exponential improvement. The struggle ahead now is getting off the narcotics.

I’ve been through this a number of times before with over 20 abdominal surgeries over a 37 year span of time. The older I get the harder it is to kick the pills. I’m 100% dependent on them now. I intend to chronicle the journey here.

The first thing it takes is an acceptance that some uncomfortable times lay ahead. Bouts of radical anxiety and insomnia. Mental toughness is called for along with the knowledge it won’t be fatal but there might be times I’ll wish I no longer existed. My goal however is to be free of narcotics within three months. At my age (67) it’s dangerous in Covid times as narcotics impair the immune system.

I’ll be updating this blog religiously and rereading my entries to affirm my commitment. I’m open to any advice or comments along the way.

Installment Two...

I picked up a script for valium yesterday and had my first night in forever without a pain pill. Only had two pain pills this morning instead of usual three. Went five hours before taking last dose of the day of two more at noon. Four a day, down from ten or twelve just a month ago. Picking up steam.

Time for some honesty here. Countless times I’ve feigned agony in order to get my wife (THE KEEPER OF THE PILLS) to hand me up to three early. Had nothing to do with pain but more just to feel centered and normal. This is your ultimate proof you’re snared and completely dependent. This is when you’re lying constantly.

I have an observation I don’t entirely understand. When my consumption of pills was ravenous I was always adamant about getting off them. When out of necessity the amount had to be cut in half I was longing for the previous higher amount. Confused opioid receptors talking to the rest of my brain.

One thing I’m completely mortified by is the way I subtly manipulated a few others into generously sharing their pain pills. I did it by lying that doctors refused to prescribe them to me. I even intimated a few times I was suicidal because of my pain level. Lies lies and more lies. I was solely after the buzz. I’ve heard other people on pain meds awhile say they had no affinity or attraction to them. They complained such things as they kept them sleepy or caused disturbing dreams. They were the people who never finished a script. I’m one of those who gets a switch thrown in my brain immediately that tells me all I need is a steady intake of more more more.

I guess that’s the defining characteristic of an addictive personality. It must be something you’re hard wired for. I find the disease concept of addiction laughable. I’ve only known a few others like me and when we’d get pills from each other we fastidiously kept track of what we were owed back. Loan shark collection tactics weren’t out of the question.

Next installment will have the story of a younger brother who was hopelessly addicted to narcotics and his tragic end.

The Story of Brother Kenny

I had a younger brother once who enlisted in the Army. He developed back issues while stationed in Germany and was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis. He eventually was awarded a full service related disability which payed him $3,300 monthly in the 90’s. Of course he opted not to work.

Back then you could still do a walkin off the street to most doctors offices and leave with a generous narcotic script. Kenny claimed his back condition was unbearably painful even though I read the condition usually only caused mild discomfort. He became a prolific doctor shopper. Eventually you could never see him when he wasn’t fully under the influence of huge narcotic doses.

I visited him one day and found him a blithering idiot. I told him I expected him to be dead within two months. He was visibly shaken. Nearly two months later I found him dead on his kitchen floor in his underwear. After the funeral people came for his body I found three different prescription pain meds from no less than five doctors. I’m convinced addiction runs in families. I, however, in many accumulated years of pain management never once od’d on pain meds. Kenny wasn’t so lucky and left us at age 47.

I took a large quantity of his meds home with me and hid them in my garage. I was very distraught over his death and someone gave me xanax pills which I took too much of. I decided to try and reverse the sedation with cocaine. My son later found me unresponsive and called an ambulance. I’m told I was comatose for three days during which my brother’s funeral had to be delayed. That was my greatest humiliating moral failure I’ve never forgiven myself for. I still believe I deserve a catastrophic event as punishment. I scarred my family and took years to rebuild trust.

Continuation...

It’s six days till next pain management appointment. I’ve managed to sneak and coerce enough extra doses that I’m nursing along at 2 pills a day instead of 7. I know that if I manage to sneak more I’ll be in misery a few days before next refill. I’ll have to visit with the doctor in extreme discomfort it’ll take all I have to hide from him. Somehow that matters little to me. Soon as my wife’s attention is diverted I’ll grab extra pills. It’s what that switch in my brain compels me to do.

I’ve gotten to the point that every aspect of my life seems dependent on having narcotics onboard. Visiting family, playing guitar, picking up groceries, even having grandkids over all require narcotic doses. My life doesn’t feel at all normal without it. I’d rather spend the entire day in bed than to not be able to take pills.

I remember six years ago when we moved onto this rural street with fabulous neighbors. The first street bbq we were invited to I was in withdrawals from morphine. I drank a helluva lot of moonshine to feel comfortable in my skin. My wife had to lead me home. I later had to apologize to the host who laughed it off thankfully.

I eventually attained a few years of complete normalcy I remember well. I played music in public and was comfortable around people I didn’t know well. It was a great time. Then came a cervical fusion surgery and months later lumbar fusion after a car wreck. Back on pills I desperately needed for horrible pain. Back to the switch in my brain being thrown. I’m recovered enough now it’s an abject lie to claim I still need them. I long for the normalcy again.

A goal I have is to not take a handful of pills when I pick up next refill again. I seriously doubt I’ll attain the goal but have ascribed it as a benchmark I’ll have to meet if I’m to be successful getting off this nightmare roller coaster. I’m like a dual personality at war with myself. Neither has the power to overcome the other.

I’m waiting for a delivery of thc gummies a cousin is sending me from Michigan. I’ve used them before and had better pain control with them. I can cut pain meds dosage in half when combined with thc gummies. I intend to try a rapid taper by using thc which I could always stop with no issues. I know I’m gonna have lingering discomfort for awhile. I’ll likely end up getting xanax from my long time primary doctor for the anxiety, insomnia and restless leg that hangs around a week or two. We’ll see how this goes. Pain meds have been in my life too long. The pain from the fusion is at a level I think I can tolerate with mental toughness now. Here’s hoping.

April 22, 2021

Yeah I know... I’ve not written anything in awhile. Short whirlwind of activity. I got my accident settlement money and we bought a bus type motorhome and had a big pool installed. Also had to go out of state for a week for a family member’s funeral. That’s my excuse.

As for the pills... the last quantity prescribed was exactly half the amount of a few months back. I was still down to none by the day before the appointment just like the previous three times. Sneaking pills when my wife’s attention is diverted has become an art form. It’s compulsive behavior that embarrasses me but I seem powerless to overcome. At least the rapid tapering regimen is in full swing and being successfully adhered to. I’ll end this session by reiterating I’m tired of being snared by these fucking pills and look forward to the glorious day they are out of my psyche.

Long overdue update. In rereading this treatise I’ve realized my initial projection of being off pain pills in a few months is in serious jeopardy. The last dosage reduction caused me to hit a wall. The pain levels have increased and I’m walking like a bent over geriatric cripple again. I’m having to realize pills will apparently be in my future for an indeterminate time. That means the lies and stealthy thievery will continue. I so wish I could conquer this compulsion but the fact remains. I can’t feel normal without them, even though after so much time on them the relief is only very minimal.

I can’t stress enough how this is not where I want to be. I long for the time again when these fuckin pills are a distant memory. If not that then I long to take them responsibly. My brain won’t allow that. It isn’t even a choice available to me. The longing to simply cease to exist pops up now and again but thankfully I can’t do that to my family. I’m considering starting a podcast to address these issues. I know millions of people like me exist in this hell. I’m not sure if I could do it other than as an anonymous person. Who the fuck wants the world to know they’re stuck in this void?

#addiction

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yeosanqtuary · 4 years

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with u - pt. 9

☆ - list of chapters

☆ - all content are fictional.

“yeah, night,”

that morning, the four friends all left the house together under the constant nagging of seonghwa who had insisted that they go to school together on their ‘first day’ as roommates.

yeosang hadn’t came to greet him yet, so he was expecting some kind of a surprise. something that would make san mentally shout, “stop scaring the heck out of me!”.

he wasn’t really looking forward to that. the only thing he was looking forward to was to perhaps have another wave of pain so he could finally find his soulmate.

he decided to start now, on the streets as they were walking to school.

“hey, hongjoong hyung. can you say yunho?” he nudged hongjoong. who was just standing beside him. “yunho? why?”

“nothing, just trying to see something,” he waited for a few seconds, then it was up to a minute, two minutes, three minutes... did he have a condition too? or maybe it’s not yunho. yes, that must be it. if he had a condition, yeosang would tell him in the first place, right?

“hyung, can you say mingi now?” he nudged hongjoong again and this time he answered without asking. kids these days... trying to find your soulmate like this...

san waited again and did not give up after waiting for five minutes.

“who else is there...” he pondered, knitting his brows together.

“don’t you have other friends?” seonghwa asked.

“um...” san treid his best to recall the other names he had seen from the virtual information board. he could’ve pulled it up right now and asked either of them to say out their names, but sadly he didn’t know how. he blames this on yeosang for not telling him the essentials.

information board!

virtual screen!

open seseame!

none of those worked, unfortunately.

“you really have no friends?” seonghwa asked again.

“a-ah, no, i’m just thinking of who would be more suitable for me, haha,” san replied awkwardly, his hand going up to rub his nape. he racked his brain again, trying to recall a random name.

“ah! moon taeil! from that, that uh...” he shut his eyes tight, gathering all of his concentration to remember which hecking class this moon taeil guy was from.

“he’s a senior, class 3A,” hongjoong finished his sentence and patted san’s back. “you don’t have to search like this. what’s the rush? just sit back and enjoy single life before it ends,” he casually said, all this while holding onto seonghwa’s pinky.

“what? hearing you say this... are you already tired of me?” seonghwa had leaned into his side, intertwined their hands and looked deeply into his eyes. hongjoong was embarrassed and was quick to explain himself. “i-i’m not! i just t-think that san would be someone who cherishes single life,”

wooyoung covered his mouth and giggled sneakily, but san had seen all of it. he smiled at the couple and placed his arm around him, the other tucked away into his pocket. wooyoung flinched a little from the sudden contact and kept his eyes on the ground.

“how about you? do you want to find your soulmate soon?”

“mhm, i-i do, but...” he started to fiddle with his thumbs–something he would do when he was nervous or uncertain. “b-but i think they wouldn’t like me very much. i d-don’t think i deserve one,”

“wooyoung-ah, you’ve done nothing wrong! you most certainly deserve someone’s love and attention. if i must say, your soulmate doesn’t deserve you,” san comforted, moving his arm down to pat his back. “cheer up, woo,” he raised his other arm up from the warmth of his pocket and gently pinched wooyoung’s cheeks, warming up his fingers once again. and his heart too, maybe.

wooyoung’s heart started to race. this contact was a little... too close? no one had ever done this to him, since he was always alone most of the time, or surrounded with people who were just using him to climb the reputation ladder.

a certain someone who was standing a meter away from the two was snickering in his mind. it was just too funny to hear that last sentence from san. that, “your soulmate doesn’t deserve you,” sentence. as someone who can predict soulmates as accurate as the bus arrival timing system, this is kinda entertaining, but at the same time agonising to watch.

imagine having to watch the pining of two oblivious sooulmates...

“h-hello, everyone. my name is kang yeosang. please take care of me,” angel boy has finally showed himself, standiong at the front of homeroom class, but looking like... a girl?

is this yeosang or nah?

yeosang, do you copy? am i looking at you in class right now? or am i just trppin’ and should’ve heard kang yeoja or ???

choi san, i’m gonna drop your ass right now.

ah, okay –. so this is really yeosang!

“okay, let’s see, who had an empty seat?”

“i do! here, yeosang!” an entirely enthusiastic mingi waved his hands around violently, trying to get yeosang’s attention. san snickered, whilst yeosang looked over to observe yunho’s reaction. it was... bland. lack of taste. too unexciting.

was he really unbothered? listening to jongho’s rants, he was quite active in flirting with mingi. perhaps he was just holding back?

“okay! mingi it is. would you also please show yeosang around?”

“yes-”

“sorry sir, but can he bring me instead?” he asked politely, also politely pointing to san.

“a-ah, if that’s what you want. are you okay with it, san?”

“totally. absolutely. would gladly show him around,” he replied, smirking at yeosang and earning a few curses back. meanwhile mingi was frozen, holding his hand and face in the same position and expression until yeosang came to his seat.

“san’s gonna bully you for sure! no kidding! he’s like a two-faced smelly, poopy demon!” mingi whined, stomping his foot on the floor.

“shut up, mingi! you’re better off with me during lunch,” yunho retaliated, shouting across the class.

“hmph! meanie yunho,” he crossed his arms and puffed up his cheeks, trying to act cute. ah, this is the bullshit you have to deal with everyday in homeroom. welcome to school, yeosang!

thank you, kind sir.

yeosang didn’t forget to observe yunho’s reactions all this while. he was smiling now and didn’t look as uninteresting as before. his cheeks had more colour this time, too. maybe he was blushing. great! they just need a little push.

after homeroom was another two periods before lunch–history and chemistry. san would get to see wooyoung in both classes! he went up a level to wooyoung’s homeroom class, where history was held.

wooyoung was speaking to his homeroom teacher, so his back was faced to the entrance, where san was standing.

his indicator isn’t brown. he did a mental @ to yeosang.

[whispering to @/choisan] and?

...and it means his soulmate isn’t near. it might really be one of the neighbours...

[whispering to @/dumbchoisan] lol. u’ll jst hafta wait n c

can you stop with this bullshit? just speak normally, stop sending those pop-up texts like we’re in a pc game!

okay, okay, sorry san. geez.

san sighed, deciding to indulge himself in his sad thoughts.

he knows he shouldn’t completely trust wooyoung’s faulty indicator, but he just can’t help but think of the unimagineable. what if, that night they return home and the first thing he sees is his indicator turning brown?

san would really cry.

no, but... it isn’t like he’s attached to him or something. he just finds him cute, that’s all. nothing else. it’s not like he likes him...

“hey, san. jungwoo asked me to switch places with him,” it was wooyoung, who was currently setting his things on the table beside san’s. he settled down after arranging his things,

“i-i’ve never said you can sit,”

“then where else should i sit?”

san looked around the crowded room. there were a few empty desks right at the back of the class, but they were dusty as heck. not good.

“here, then,” he sighed and got out his books for the lesson.

the teacher hadn’t arrived and wooyoung laid his head on the table, maybe deciding to take a short nap. he didn’t really get enough sleep last night in the new environment. plus, san had constantly invaded his thoughts, making it harder to fall asleep.

seeing that wooyoung had laid down, a playful idea slipped into his mind.

he laid his head on the table too and faced wooyoung, staring at his head. more specifically, observing the way his hair was wavy and shiny. it looked super silky and smooth that one wouldn’t even need to touch it to know that it’s smooth.

he kept on observing for what seemed like forever, but was actually a few minutes before wooyoung had turned his head to the left, facing san.

wooyoung’s eyes were still closed. san silently wowed at the length of his eyelashes, pushing down the urge to touch them.

a few strands of hair on the crown of his head had rose due to the wind, making it look like there was a small weed growing on the top of his head. his cheeks were squished together, making his lips look plumper(?) and more attractive than usual, as if it was inviting san to place a kiss on it.

“alright, class! sorry for the delay! i was held up by...”

san ignored every other voice and continued observing–no, admiring–wooyoung’s face.

wooyoung, on the other hand, had started to stir in his sleep.

san smiled and watched as wooyoung’s eyes fluttered open slowly. they made eye contact, but he didn’t really seem shocked that he was greeted by san’s gaze immediately. or rather, it felt like he had expected for it to happen and was anticipating for it.

“our lovely choi san and wooyoung, good morning, both of you!” the teacher’s loud, gruff voice brought the both of them back into reality. san had raised his head and looked around, cracking his stiff neck in the process. everyone had their eyes on them and he couldn’t help but blush.

he stood up awkwardly, rubbing his nape. he turned sideways slightly to observe wooyoung’s reaction and coincidently, wooyoung was facing him, too. he immediatey turned away in panic, feeling dumb, embarrassed and awkward.

what have i done???

next ->

#ateez #wooyoung #choi san #yeosang #woosan #kpop #fluff #bxb #soulmate au #soulmates #high school au #transmigration #ateez au #kpop au #ateez fanfic #kpop fanfiction #fanfiction

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mrsedmercer · 5 years

Text

Steamy Love (A Tom Hiddleston x Reader) Part 21: ~Friendship~

Summary: You spend more quality time with your best friend and best man!

Warnings: None.

Read it on my Wattpad: @/HiddlesStar

Word count: 1715

Author Notes: Sorry this chapter took so long! Had to take a break to get the creativity back. Expect weekly chapter updates to resume again!

Tags: @theoneanna @midnightdragonzero @drakesfiance @kcd15 @ihthr @deviantsendbyreallife @bookgirlunicorn

"What the hell is 'Leg Day'?" Your friend asked, looking rather confused.

Your cheeks immedietly got a little pink. You had remembered in the last live stream you did with Tom, he mentioned the infamous High-Rise 'Leg Day' inside joke you two had created in regards to the first love scene where Laing lifts Charlotte's legs up. He had referenced the joke while talking about how Zero Suit Samus fights in Smash Bros. Ultimate. He didn't explain it, though, keeping the inside joke as an inside joke.

"Umm.." You paused again. You really weren't sure how to explain it, or even if you should explain it. It was a bit...personal.

"Well...it's..."

Before you could really give a response, Tom knocked at the door, walking in once he had permission.

"Are you ladies hungry at all?" He asked. You could tell your friend liked being called that from him. You weren't offended by their little crush. You understood how they were feeling, and it honestly made you feel even luckier to be with Tom.

"I am." You smiled some.

"Me too!" Your friend chirped. "I've barely eaten today."

"Shall we go out for lunch? Say, 10 minutes?.." Tom smiled some.

"In 10 minutes works!" You chirped, and your friend nodded in agreement. Tom gave a little wave and left, closing the door again. Surprisingly, your friend didn't ask about Leg Day again, thankfully. They probably just forgot about it.

After a couple minutes, the three of you left to go get some lunch. Unfortunately by now, the paparazzi knew what streets you and Tom go down to get to places like the grocery store and restaurants, so you'd spot cameras at specific areas. Tom tried not to acknowledge the cameras as you all exited the vehicle after arriving at a lunch joint, but you and your friend gave a slight wave before entering the building, knowing they couldn't follow you in. You were surprised to see that no one in this lunch place knew Tom or you, so you didn't see anyone watching you while you all ate.

"How did you two meet, again?" Your friend asked as you waited for your food.

"I'm surprised she didn't tell you.." Tom smiled, referring to you.

"No I told her. She probably just wants to hear the story again.." You chuckled, getting a little grin from Tom. "We met when he came to my hotel room asking for an extra towel. I didn't even know it was him at that moment.."

"I don't blame you. Me and Loki look nothing alike.." Tom smirked.

"Still, I should've recognized those nice eyes immedietly.." You admitted, getting another big smile from Tom. "It was actually (BF/N) that helped me remember who you were."

"Really?" Tom asked, a little surprised.

"Yeah, I had a call with her on that bus ride to the meeting. That's when she told me. After that, I met you at the meeting the director had set up. That's where I learned we would be costars.."

"Ooh, and the rest is history.." Your friend giggled, nudging you some.

"Do you think you would've realized it was me at the meeting, if she hadn't of reminded you?" Tom asked curiously.

"I mean, they said your last name in the meeting.." You nodded some. "My anxiety would've gone through the roof." You joked, Tom smirking somewhat mischievously.

"I hope you guys weren't having super obvious eye-sex at the meeting." Your friend joked with a chuckle.

"Oh not at all. Not until we got to his hotel room that day.." You admitted with a wink. Tom gave a little snicker.

"I was quite tempted to make a move then, I'll admit.." Tom smirked.

"So was I.." You grinned, seeing Tom's eyes darken and look you over.

"Hey." Your friend snapped their fingers some. "We're in public! Y'all are like rabbits. Jesus.." They shook their head, making you and Tom laugh.

"People would lose their minds if they heard this conversation, I swear.." Your friend laughed, leaning back against their seat.

It was nice reminiscing about your first couple days with Tom, before you had even begun to share a living space. You remember the dark fantasies that had been playing in your head when you went back to his hotel room with him. Now you've probably relived those fantasies twice as much as you expected in your bedroom, and now especially out of the bedroom.

"Let them hear." You shrugged, noticing Tom's slight surprise. You had started to come across paparazzi the more you and Tom have gone out. You wondered if any one of them had watched your streams to get any juicy gossip. Things have been amazing. Any gossip has been good and just excites fans.

During lunch, you talked a lot about your streams. Tom's been really interested in the technical side of it. He's almost been a regular guest. You guys can't even count how many inside jokes you've created.

Leg Day will always be your favourite, of course. It was practically the first.

After dinner, you all returned back to Tom's house. You all decided to stream together. It would probably be a while until the three of you get together again. Now's a good time for it. You all got to play a game together too, deciding to pick Smash Ultimate since it had just come out. Helping Tom figure out these games is one of the best parts of streaming with him. He could be so old sometimes.

"Oh my God, enough with the legs!" You chuckled as you fought against your best friend. They're good with Zero Suit Samus, and they use the Up B attack when you're about 100% to get a stock off you. They're really good.

"What, I thought you liked Leg Day?" Tom commented with a smirk, getting a shy but playful chuckle out of you.

"I don't wanna hear any of that shit, big dog." You chuckled. You could practically hear Tom's big grin as he gave out that iconic 'ehehehe' laugh.

"Y'all still have to tell me what that means." Your friend commented. You gave a slight playful glance to Tom, and he returned the expression. This is very entertaining.

Further into the stream, you were letting your friend teach Tom how to play. He wanted to get better with Joker.

"Joker is a pretty cool character." You admitted with a little smile, keeping an eye on chat while watching Tom and your friend play.

"He seems cool.." Tom smiled. He liked using the white school uniform skin, rather than the mask skins.

"I like his mask. It suits him." Your friend added. "Do you think Loki would ever wear a mask?"

"I don't think he'd want anything to cover his face.." Tom replied. "He may wear one to a Ball, as like a disguise.."

"Who would want to cover those eyes?" You smiled, getting a bashful smile from Tom.

"Very true.." Tom nodded.

As Tom was learning to play, you kept an eye on chat. In a quick moment, something caught your eye.

"Someone sent in a donation and just wrote in 'Nut Hiddleston' and it's really confusing.."

Your friend laughed. "Tom Nut Hiddleston.." They spoke, making you laugh as well.

"Nut? What? What does that mean?" Tom asked, a little confused. "Like a peanut?"

Oh God. That just made you laugh more. How can this man be so innocent in public, but a freak under the bed sheets?

"Sure. A peanut.." You nodded, though you could tell Tom didn't believe that's what it actually meant.

"What? What does it mean?" He asked again, getting all confused when you and your friend giggled. "What does nut mean?"

Him repeating the question just made you laugh more. Hearing it with such a concern tone in his voice was just hilarious. You were starting to notice that little small things he did were funnier than you'd normally think, like him giving little smiles or dropping something. It would give you a warm feeling in your chest, too.

You finally leaned in close to his ear to whisper what it meant. His expression went from slight confusion, to complete embarrassment.

"O-Oh my.." Tom blushed heavily, fixing his glasses. "I-I see.." You giggled again, shaking your head.

"How did you not know what it means?" Your friend asked Tom with a little laugh.

"I don't keep up with today's lingo!" Tom chuckled. "I just learned of what TikTok was the other day..."

"Oh God, TikTok.." Your friend cringed some, making you laugh. "Stay far away from that App, Tom.."

"From what I've heard, I can understand that.." Tom agreed.

After the stream was over, you all got ready for bed. You helped your friend get settled in the guest room, your former bedroom, before going back to your new room to lay down with Tom. You crawled into bed and nuzzled up to his half naked figure. He smiled and wrapped an arm around you.

"I nearly forget the times we slept in separate beds.." Tom admitted.

"I nearly forget what it's like not to wake up with jelly legs.." You added with a shy blush, getting a chuckle from Tom.

"It's not too much, is it?" He asked. "I'm a bit of an...adventurous lover."

"No, it's great.." You smiled, pecking Tom's chest. "You're great.."

Tom smiled, turning off the little side lamp so the room would get dark, laying down on his pillow and closing his eyes to fall asleep.

"...I'm gonna miss this.." You admitted, making him open his eyes again. "After March, you're headed back to the UK and I'm headed home.."

Tom detected the sadness in your voice. Truthfully, he would miss this too, but he couldn't possibly ask you to move in with him, or at the very least, spend another couple months away from home.

"...Hey now, that's not for another couple months.." Tom spoke up, trying to lighten the mood. "Let's enjoy the time we still have together.." He pecked your forehead, making you smile a bit.

"I know.." You spoke in a soft tone, nuzzling close before closing your eyes and falling asleep.

You can't keep delaying this conversation forever, though.

#tom Hiddleston #tom Hiddleston x reader #tom hiddleston fanfiction #tom Hiddleston x you #fanfiction #fanfics #steamy love

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pocketsizedsamwinchester · 5 years

Text

The Unexpected Perks Of Being a Nanny

Pairing: Jared x Reader

Word Count: 5.7k

Warnings: Swearing, Pregnancy, Implied Smut

When you went to school for Early Childhood Care and Education, you never imagined having such sweet kids to look after. Thomas and Shepherd Padalecki were the sweetest boys ever! After their father's and mother's amicable divorce, Jared was looking to hire somebody to look after his kids while he was at work. You had the interview with Jared on Tuesday, during his lunch break. He invited you over to the set of his TV show, where you two, plus Jensen, had lunch together and talked about his kids.

"Are you nervous?" Jensen chuckled. "You look nervous."

"I've never had this big of a job before. I'm like fresh out of school!" You laughed nervously.

"So let's start with that..." Jared started placing a glass of water in front of you. "Where'd you go to school? How long were you there?"

"I went to Capilano University in North Vancouver... I did a four-year degree, taking courses in mostly infants and toddlers, but I took two courses in school-aged children. I graduated top of my class."

"Good for you!" Jared smiled.

"I like her, let's hire her!" Jensen rushed but was halfway joking.

"And how'd you do in high school?"

"I graduated with a 4.2 GPA which is roughly a 97% average." You smiled and nodded your head, proud of yourself.

"That is really great!" Jared smiled. "Do you have any experience with other kids?"

"Well like I said, this is my first real job, but I've babysat a lot and I helped out in a daycare when I was younger."

He asked you other questions about whether you had emergency training, gave you some hypothetical situations in which something happened to the boys or they got sick and asked you what you would do. He asked you about why you became a nanny, how you would deal with discipline if you even needed too, and how you would deal with comforting a child.

"I think Tom and Shep are really going to like you!" Jared smiled as he shook your hand.

"You're giving me the job? Just like that?" You shook his hand in disbelief.

"You seem like a really nice person, very responsible. I want that around my kids. If you don't have a place to stay, you can gladly stay with me, even when the boys aren't here. They will be staying with Gen every two weeks out of a month."

"It's okay, I understand and thank you very much! I need to take you up on that offer, I actually just got kicked out of my apartment." You frowned.

You had to lean on student loans in order to go to school and when you were struggling to work your job and do your schooling, you fell behind on paying for a roof over your head.

"Oh wow, that sucks." Jensen's eyes met yours.

"It does." You sighed. "I decided to move away and my mom disowned me for that."

In reality, it was much worse than that. Your mother did more to you than just disown you.

"Dad isn't in the picture?" Jared asked curiously.

You nodded your head no. You don't remember much of your dad. You must've been six or seven when he left. You're now twenty-two and have no parental support. You took the bus back to the apartment you were just kicked out of. They had to give you a week notice to get your stuff and get out, so you were living on borrowed time. Jared texted you the details of when the kids were going to be flying in from Idaho and how Gen wanted to meet you too. He explained that she had been staying with her parents but she planned on moving back to Texas. You continued to pack your stuff up in boxes. When Thursday rolled around, you realized that if you would be moving into Jared's place, you would have to bring all your stuff over today. You sent Jared a text message asking him when it would be okay for you to bring your stuff over. He offered to help you after he finished work that day.

"Nice truck." You smiled as Jared hopped out of the driver's seat.

"You like it?"

You looked at the tan coloured Super Duty Ford F-250 with hearts in your eyes.

"Hell Yeah! Sorry." You apologized quickly. "I'm going to try and keep my cursing to a minimum while I'm around the kids."

"It's okay, Tom and Shep know not to repeat that anyways. Just no hardcore stuff. " Jared chuckled as he followed you into your dingy apartment.

You never really liked living there anyway, it always smelled damp. But it was the only place you could afford. You hesitated before you walked into your apartment, and for good reason too. You threw your head back and sneezed six or seven times.

"I'm coming down with something." You wiped your nose and coughed a little.

"Yeah, I can tell why this place is really damp and cold. How long have you been living here?" Jared worried a little.

"Couple of years... Well ever since I moved here for school. It was cheap, which is why I stayed." You picked up a box of clothes.

You brought out two more boxes and went back in for a third when Jared stopped you.

"You look miserable, why don't you go sit out in my truck. I got the rest of these!" He offered.

"I'm fine, Jared." You sneezed again.

"No, you're not, honestly, Y/N, I got this."

You went out and sat in Jared's truck, feeling more and more guilty watching every box that Jared brought out. Jared brought out your last box and put it in the back of his truck. He hopped in the driver's seat and started the truck up.

"See no biggie." He smiled over at you.

"I could've helped." You coughed into your elbow.

You and Jared drove back to his place with only the radio playing.

"You're going to let me help you take the boxes in, right?" You urged.

"I can do it, Y/N-"

"Jared, you're being too nice to me." You intervened, taking off your seat belt.

"I like to think of myself as a nice guy." He chuckled. "Go in and lie down, I got these. There's only like fifteen boxes."

You sighed, not in the mood to argue with him anymore. He unlocked the door for you and you went in. You found the living room and lied down on the couch. Before you knew it, you were asleep and you didn't wake up until the next morning.

"Feeling any better today?" Jared sat at the end of the couch next to your feet.

You shook your head no. "Not really."

You were all congested and could barely breathe.

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Because I like you. You're the person who is going to take care of my kids when I'm not around, so I kinda want you to like me and them too. I get the feeling that you never got this kind of treatment from mom growing up. Am I right?"

You nodded.

"It's just second nature for me, Y/N, especially now that I'm a dad, I feel like I need to take care of you because you're sick."

"You don't think of me as your kid, do you?"

"Oh no, no. I never meant it like that." Jared began to blush a little. "Anyways... I got to film for a bit today, so you can chill out here and unpack a couple of your things if you would like. What do you want for breakfast?"

You and Jared ate breakfast together before he left. Then you went upstairs to find your room. You found all of your boxes in a fairly big room. You were nervous about meeting Tom and Shep, especially Gen. What if she didn't like you? You would have to move all your stuff out of Jared's place and you wouldn't have a job, wouldn't have any money to get yourself a new place. By the time two o'clock rolled around, Jared was back at the house and you two were getting ready to head out to the airport. When you had got to the airport, it was almost quarter to three and you saw that Gen's flight was delayed.

"Hmp." Jared shrugged and took a seat.

You two sat there waiting for what felt like forever.

"You can take a nap if you're not feeling well, I'll wake you up when the boys get here." Jared patted his shoulder.

"It's fine. I don't take naps."

Before you knew it, however, you laid your head on Jared's shoulder and fell asleep.

"Daddy!" Shep called as he let go of Gen's hand and ran over to Jared.

"Hey, buddy!" Jared smiled.

"Hi, daddy. Who's that?" Tom asked curiously, pointing to you.

"This is Y/N." He said softly. "She's going to be looking after your guys while daddy's at work, but she's feeling a little sick."

You began to wake up when Jared shook you a little. You stretched, yawned and rubbed your eyes.

"Are these your kids?" You asked sleepily.

"Mhmm. Y/N meet Thomas, Shepherd and Odette. Tom, Shep, Baby Odette this is Y/N!"

Tom and Shep said hi and smiled as Gen waved little Odette's arm.

"I'm Genevieve." She smiled.

"Hi, Genevieve." You smiled a little too.

It was Monday before Jared had to work again. Genevieve really liked you and thought you would be great for the boys. She flew out on Sunday, giving you your first real day to work. You were excited but nervous. You still had a cold which was weighing you down.

"So what's the plan for today?" Jared asked as you all sat around the table.

"Not much really." You sighed. "If it warms up, I'll take them to the park, I guess."

"You still don't sound very well."

"Still don't feel very well." You coughed a little.

"I can take today off, Y/N, if you need me too, it's no big deal." He offered.

"Jared, no." You chuckled. "You need to go to work and so do I!"

"Alright, alright." He threw his hands up in the air.

Jared put his dishes in the dishwasher and planted a kiss on Tom and Shep's heads.

"Be good for Y/N okay?"

Both boys nodded yes and gave Jared a smile. Your first day went great! There was only one tantrum thrown. As the weeks went on, your relationships with the boys grew. You and Jared grew closer too. But every time you got close, he pulled back. You didn't know if he wanted to keep your relationship completely professional, you didn't know if it was because he was thirteen years older than you, or maybe it was because he still wasn't ready. His divorce was still pretty fresh. It was a Saturday afternoon and you were giving Shep a bath when you overheard Tom and Jared talking. You have been working for Jared now for about two months. Tom was asking Jared a lot of questions about you.

"I like Y/N, do you like Y/N, daddy?"

"Well, of course, I like Y/N, buddy," Jared answered contentedly.

"Do you like her like you liked mommy?"

"I don't think you understand what you're asking me, Thomas"

"Course I do, daddy! You liked mommy as more than a friend. Do you like Y/N as more than a friend?"

You continued to wash Shep over, deciding to drown out Jared and Tom's conversation. If Jared had said no, you would've been heartbroken.

"Why upset, Y/N?" Shep cocked his head to the side.

"I'm not upset, buddy."

You helped Shep out of the tub and you wrapped a towel around him.

"Go find daddy and tell him to get you dressed!" You smiled, kissing his forehead.

On Monday, When you woke up, Tom and Shep were lying down next to you.

"Daddy let us in." Tom yawned.

"I see! You guys look comfortable!"

"Your bed is comfortable, Y/N!" Tom smiled.

You brushed some of Shep's hair back out of his face.

"What should we do today, guys?" You kissed both of their foreheads as you got up.

You watched Tom walk down the stairs. At five years old, he was a pro now! But Shep still needed some help. You held his left hand and he gripped onto the rungs of the staircase.

"Good job, Sheppy!" You gave him a high five as you got to the bottom, letting him do the last step on his own.

He wrapped his arms around your legs and smiled. After that, he went into the living room with Tom while you made breakfast. After breakfast, the boys wanted to go to the park.

"Thomas Colton Padalecki." You scolded. "You've got to hold onto my hand until we get to the park!"

Your right hand held onto Shep's much smaller left hand and the dog leash. You held out your left hand for Thomas to come back and take it.

"Sorry Y/N. I'm just excited!" He grabbed your hand and looked up at you innocently.

"I know buddy, but safety is our first priority."

You three, and Arlo arrived at the park a few minutes later. You took a seat on the bench and watched as the boys went to play. Arlo sat on the bench with you, his nose nudging your hand for you to pet him. Shep was basically Tom's shadow! You thought it was cute, however. You received a text from Jared.

Jared <10:30 AM>: How are the boys this morning?

Y/N <10:34 AM>: Boys are good, we're at the park!

Jared <10:39 AM>: They love the park! Gotta talk to you when I get off work.

Y/N <10:44 AM>: Is something wrong...?

Y/N <10:45AM>: Never mind, Jared, I've got to go. Shep cut his knee. Talk later.

Jared <10:46 AM>: Is Shep ok? Talk after.

You put your phone back in your pocket and rushed over to Shep. His bottom lip was quivering but he was trying to hold back the tears. You handed the dog leash to Tom.

"Hey, hey! You're okay." You said as you cupped his face. "Let me take a look at it."

"Hurts, Y/N!" He started to cry, letting a tear roll down his cheek.

"I know buddy." You picked him up and carried him back to the bench.

You pulled open your backpack and rooted around in there. You dug right down to the bottom and pulled out a bottle of spray peroxide.

"This is going to sting a little, bud, Y/N's sorry!" You frowned.

You sprayed the peroxide on his cut and the little boy cried out as it started to bubble.

"I want daddy!" He sobbed into your chest.

You sighed, hoping one day, you'd have one of your own kids running around, wanting you when they got hurt.

"I-I know, Sheppy, but daddy's working... Look-look what Y/N got!" You smiled as you pulled out a package of band-aids that had The Avengers characters on them. "Which ones are your favourite? I got Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawk-Eye and Spider-Man."

He sniffed a little and pulled away from you to look at them. "I want 'pider Man n' Hulk!"

He started to smile as you found a Spider-Man and a Hulk then stuck them on his knee. You wiped his tears away and smiled when he ran off to play with Tom on the slide. At lunchtime, the boys were ready to go home. At around 2:30 PM, Jared checked in again to see how Shep was. He left you alone again after that. You put on Disney channel for Tom and Shep then you sat down and scrolled through Instagram. Your feed was loaded up with pictures of Jared and Jensen and where they were filming. At around five o'clock, Jared came home and slipped his shoes off, placing them on the rack. He entered the kitchen from the foyer and smiled at you making supper. You hadn't noticed Jared was there when you glanced into the living room.

"Boys! I want you to sit on your bums. Jumping on the couch is dangerous!"

Both boys sat down quickly, then you heard Jared's voice from behind you.

"And remember what daddy told you. You always have to be good for Y/N."

Jared took a seat at the bar stools in the kitchen.

"About the text earlier-" He started off.

"-You're not going to fire me are you?" You cut him off and frowned.

"Oh god no, of course not. Gen's got an acting gig, and we both realize that Odette is very little, but in order for Gen to make money to live off of, she needs somebody to look after Baby 'Dette. Do you think you can handle one more kid for at least a couple of days a week?"

"Are you kidding me? Of course, I can!" You smiled, mixing the sauce into the stir fry you were making for Jared and yourself, then you checked on the chicken nuggets for the boys. "I can't wait to take care of her."

It was another two weeks before you would look after Odette however. The boys went to Texas to spend time with their mommy before she was going to go to work again, giving you two weeks to yourself. You laid back on the couch and opened up your book. IT by Stephen King. You were about 541 pages into it. A FaceTime call from Genevieve interrupted the silence. You answered the call and were met with mostly Tom and Shep's faces.

"Hi, Y/N!" They smiled.

"Hi boys. Are you having fun with mommy?"

"Lots of fun!" Shepherd smiled.

"But we miss you, Y/N, so mommy said we could call!" Tom blew you a kiss.

"I miss you guys too." You smiled sadly.

After talking with the boys for a while, Gen made them go into the playroom while she spoke with you.

"Everything okay? You seem upset." She cocked her head to the side.

"No, I'm fine. Just waiting for Jared to come home."

"Oh... I see." She smiled at the camera. "Do you two have a date?"

"A date?!?! Oh no, I'm just kind of bored." You half giggled. "What do mean do you two have a date? "

"Well, I mean it's obvious he likes you! I think he loves you, he just doesn't realize it yet. He thinks he's doing something right by the kids and I if he stays single. He's not, in the meantime. Even though Jared and I got divorced, it doesn't mean I don't love him any less. It just means that somethings in our marriage weren't working for us and we're better off as friends. You being around is good for the boys and good for Jared. I want him to move on from me and I think you're right for him. Make the first move, ask him out! Jared is stubborn." She let out a little chuckle.

"You're not the typical ex-wife, huh?"

"No, I'm a very extraordinary ex-wife!" She smiled big. "Anyways, I must let you go, Odette just woke up from her nap."

You said goodbye to Genevieve. You had to think about what Genevieve said long and hard, running out of time before Jared got home. Were you going to go through with asking Jared out? You do really like him. But what if he doesn't like you back, what if Genevieve was wrong? It was about five thirty when Jared arrived home. You were waiting in the kitchen. Tonight's dish would be pizza from a local pizzeria.

"Smells great!" He smiled as he walked through the kitchen.

Jared had left his boots at the front door and placed his jacket on a hook in the custom made shelf. Your jacket had been placed right next to it. Next to your hook was three more hooks. One labelled Thomas, the next one labelled Shepherd and the last one labelled Odette. You took Gen's advice and decided to make the first move. You noticed him run his tongue over his lips as you opened the pizza box. It was facing you and you glanced over the words one last time. You took a deep breath before turning it to face Jared. On the top part of the pizza box, you wrote in permanent marker 'Will you be my Boyfriend or is this too cheesy?' You opened your mouth to speak but cut yourself off when you felt Jared's lips on yours. His lips were so soft. They were full and sensually wet. You kissed him back, running your hands up his sides. He pulled away first, his cheeks going a shade of red, much like a school girl getting her first kiss.

"That was..." You grinned.

"Amazing." Jared finished for you, smiling from ear-to-ear.

Jared picked you up and sat you down on the countertop. You wrapped your legs around his waist and pulled him closer. You wrapped your arms around his neck and played with the hair that was back there. Jared planted another kiss on your lips. You deepened it, letting his tongue explore your mouth. You felt his hands grasp at your back and you let out a small moan in response. You began to feel him pull away. He bit his lip and let his eyes fall.

"Oh... Jared... I didn't mean to remind you of Gen or anything."

"No, no." He intervened. "You didn't remind me of her. It's just-"

"Gen was the one who convinced me to do this, Jared. She's okay with you moving on, she cares about you and she wants you to be happy. I-I wouldn't have asked you if I knew it wasn't okay with her." You cocked your head to the side, giving him a pleading look.

Jared was hesitant when you leaned in to kiss him again. After a few seconds, he began to kiss you back, placing his hands on your sides. You were the one to pull away this time.

"I'm super hungry, let's eat!"

Jared smiled and helped you down off the countertop. After you finished eating, you stood up and took a couple of steps closer to Jared. He pushed his chair away from the table, making enough room for you to sit. You sat on his lap and laid your head in the crook of his neck. He placed his left hand on your side, close to your hip. The other one rested on your knee. You two had said nothing and stayed in the chair for almost an hour before you decided to put on a movie. On Sunday, The boys, Gen and Odette flew in. Jared and yourself made your way to the airport. Thomas and Shepherd were just as excited to see you as they were excited to see Jared. Once you all got to Jared's house, Genevieve pulled you aside, Baby Odette cooing in her arms.

"So... Did you ask him yet?"

"Yeah." You could barely contain your happiness. "Are you sure you're okay with me dating your ex-husband?"

"Of course I am, silly. I wouldn't have encouraged you to ask him out if I didn't want him to move on." She let out a little giggle. "Now come on, the boys are dying to spend time with you."

You and Genevieve entered the house, smiles on both your faces when you saw Tom and Shep fooling around with Jared. You took a seat next to Tom and gave him a little kiss. Shep climbed across Jared to get a kiss from you too. Jared's dog Arlo Jumped up on the couch, frightening Odette. The baby girl started to cry.

"Odette's really loud," Tom whispered.

"Yeah but she's a baby, so it's okay." You smiled.

Your gaze met Jared's and he nodded towards you.

"Uh, boys? Would it be okay if I go out with your daddy?" You asked nervously.

"You mean like you and daddy are going to get married?" Tom cocked his head to the side.

"Well, no-"

Jared had cut you off. "Maybe one day."

You smiled, your cheeks going a shade of red. You had never really thought about marriage before. You were only twenty-two, going to be twenty-three on your birthday.

"Well, then I thinks that's okay!" Tom smiled big, giving you a hug.

On Monday, Genevieve headed to Los Angeles to film and Jared headed back to work. It was 6:29 AM when Odette woke up. Tom and Shep wouldn't be up for at least another hour, giving you time to bond with the baby. You laid her on your legs and she looked up at you wide-eyed.

"I know, I'm not mommy." You half smiled, tickling her a little.

The small child gave you a little smile.

"I think you look like your mommy... No, no, maybe your daddy?" You giggle as Odette gnawed on her fingers. "Let's go get you a bottle that mommy left you."

You laid Odette's head on your shoulder and supported her by holding her up around her back and bottom. You pulled a bottle of Gen's breast milk out of the fridge and popped it in the microwave for thirty seconds. You took her into the living room and sat down on the couch, getting comfortable then giving her the bottle. She sucked it back like she hadn't seen milk in a week. At 10:30 AM, Jensen called asking if you'd be willing to watch JJ and the Twins for a few hours while Danneel accompanied him to set. The boys were almost done filming the season. You, of course, said yes. Danneel dropped the three off around 11.

"Are you sure you can take care of six kids by yourself?" She worried.

"No. But hey, this'll be a learning experience!" You smiled.

"Okay, call me if you need anything at all. I won't be long rushing back, okay? Also, congratulations on yours and Jared's relationship! I think we were all kind of hoping you two would get together!"

Danneel's red, partially curled hair bounced as she handed Arrow to you. She let herself in and brought Zeppelin.

"I brought a playpen for them." She smiled.

You thanked her and held both twins while Danneel brought in the playpen and set it up. She left again after explaining their nap and feeding schedules. What were you going to do with six kids for most of the day? Tom, Shep and JJ played tea party in the living room while you sat on the couch covered in pillows and babies. You laid Odette on your chest, Arrow sat next to her on your groin and Zeppelin sat next to Arrow on your thighs. You had pillows on the floor, in case one child rolled off, pillows on the couch, trying to prevent them from rolling off and a couple of pillows behind your back to prop you up. Bubble Guppies was on TreeHouse! At around twelve all hands were tired and hungry. You popped some chicken nuggets in the oven for the three older kids and you gave Odette and Arrow their bottles. JJ was a great help.

"Mommy taught me!" She smiled as she fed Zeppelin his bottle.

"I wanna try too!" Tom ran over to you.

"Okay buddy, sit up on the couch." You grinned as he did so.

You were proud that Thomas was interested in learning about babies. You placed Arrow in his lap.

"Now you see how JJ is holding Zep? You gotta put your arm under her head." You instructed and placed a pillow under his arm to help prop them up. "And hold onto the bottle with your right hand. Don't hold it up too much okay?"

He nodded and smiled as Arrow started drinking from the bottle.

"Good job, Thomas." You whispered when you noticed all three babies falling asleep.

You finished up with Odette first and put her in a playpen upstairs to sleep, making sure the baby monitor was turned on, then you took Zeppelin from JJ and placed him in the playpen Danneel brought over for you. When Arrow fell asleep you put her in the playpen with Zeppelin.

Two weeks later, it was just you and Jared again. Gen managed to get a week off from filming so it wouldn't be long before you would have a full house again. You wrapped your legs around Jared's sides and pushed him back onto the couch.

"Fuck woman." He half moaned, smiling up at you.

"Do you want to do this, Jared?" You ran your hands up and down his torso. "Do you think we're rushing?"

"Well, if you want to slow down we can, Y/N. I don't want to do anything you're not ready for."

"I don't want to slow down, but I feel like it's wrong- I want you to tell me no." You bit your lip.

"I don't want to tell you no." He shot up off the couch.

His lips met yours and you felt his hands grasping at the hem of your shirt. You caressed his cheeks as you kissed him hungrily. He broke away long enough to lift your shirt up over your head, then smashed his lips back into yours. He laid you back onto the couch as his hands explored your body. You moaned into the kiss, allowing his tongue to slip right past your lips. You pushed him away.

"Wait wait wait, Jared stop." You breathed heavily.

"What's wrong?" He worried.

"It's nothing really... just- I'm a virgin."

"Really? When I was your age, I had already lost my virginity!"

"Well, that's not something you expect to hear from your boyfriend when I was your age..." You imitated him and giggled.

Jared frowned and pulled back a little more.

"You're right. Maybe we shouldn't be doing this, Y/N."

"Oh, come on, Jared? Is it the age thing? What's thirteen years between two people who love each other?"

"You-you love me?" He cracked a tiny smile.

"Yeah... I do." You pulled him closer to you and pressed your lips against his softly.

Jared pulled away again, sat up and looked at your body up and down.

"I think I might like to take your virginity." He smiled devilishly.

Genevieve called later that night. You and Jared remained on the couch, both naked. If she had called a couple of seconds earlier, she might've interrupted Jared fucking you into next week. You pulled the blanket up over you, making sure you were totally covered before you answered. Genevieve's face popped up on the screen.

"Oh thank god you two are still up." She half smiled.

"What's going on, Gen? Isn't it twelve AM in Texas?" You played with Jared's hair while you held the phone.

"Shep won't go to sleep without talking to you guys. He's really not feeling well."

"Oh no." You frowned.

Genevieve sat down next to Shep on the couch, who was half-lidded.

"What's going on little man?" You asked.

"Bad tummy, Y/N. I wants to be in 'Couver." The little boy frowned.

"But you were in Vancouver with Daddy and Y/N for two whole weeks! Don't you miss being with mommy?" Jared said softly.

Shep nodded, cuddling into Genevieve.

"I wants mommy, daddy and Y/N to live in 'Couver! All 'gether!" He sniffed.

"But buddy, mommy likes living in Texas." Gen chirped.

"It's only another week and you'll be back in Vancouver, okay? Don't stress over that, buddy, Daddy and Y/N are only a phone call away." Jared blew him a kiss.

"We love you, buddy, forever and always, okay? No matter how far apart we are." You concluded. "I think it's time you give momma break and go to bed okay? Talk to you first thing tomorrow morning."

"Promise?" Shep yawned.

"We promise." Jared smiled tiredly as he yawned too.

~One Year Later~

"Y/N? Did you miss taking care of us while you were in the hospital?" Tom rested a hand on your baby bump.

"I missed taking care of you guys a lot." You giggled.

You found out you were pregnant in February of the new year, giving you a seven-month pregnancy, but due to complications during the second trimester, Jared brought you to the hospital in fear you might've been miscarrying or going into early Labor. You were hospitalized for most of the summer, which was a bummer, but you were doing all you could to keep your baby healthy.

"Do you feel the baby moving in there?" You smiled.

Tom smiled when he felt the baby kicking.

"Look! Look, Y/N. It's a foot!" He squealed, pointing to the imprint of the baby's foot sticking out of your belly.

Shep ran over to see the baby's foot.

"Woah! cool." Shep grinned from ear-to-ear.

Odette waddled over to your side, pushing Shep out of the way so she could see too.

"Ba-by?" She pointed to your belly.

"Yeah, there's a baby in there!"

"Ba-by?" She pointed to her belly.

"There's no baby in your tummy." You giggled.

Genevieve emerged from the kitchen and sat down on the couch at your feet.

"Jared'll be home in ten minutes." She smiled as Odette climbed up into her lap.

"Baby?" She pointed to Genevieve's stomach.

"Nope, there's no baby in mommy's tummy. " Genevieve laughed.

"Mommy baby?" She pointed to you again.

"Can you say Y/N, Odette?" You pronounced your name for her.

"Mommy."

"She's never going to learn my name." You laughed. "Maybe she'll catch on when she's older."

"Maybe so." Gen smiled. "If not, it's okay with me. I don't mind sharing her with you and Jared."

"You're an amazing woman, Gen. Thomas, Shepherd, do you know you have an amazing mommy?"

"We have the best two mommies and the best daddy a boy could ever ask for." Tom gave you a kiss, then Genevieve a kiss.

When you went to school for Early Childhood Care and Education, you never imagined having such a great relationship with the boys, even if your career started and ended with the Padalecki's. You never imagined you'd have the greatest family! Being a Nanny was the best thing that could ever happen to you.

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3packsfrom21 · 5 years

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Changing It Up

Well, they coerced me into writing the summary on Spain and you are all witnesses to the fact that it did not take me a year (it may, however, have taken me a couple weeks).

Up till now you may have heard that the cool weather and rain have been chasing us; we were all hoping that Spain would end that cycle and it did not disappoint. We had one day of rain in the two weeks that we were there.

Spain - the land of fiesta, siesta, paella, and sangria. We arrived on the 13th, (September) with our first stop being Barcelona. We all wanted to get a beach in before Jessica left (since we couldn't send her home without some sort of a tan). The day that we arrived was overcast and therefore not super hot, so we walked to a famous park (Park Guell) which has an amazing lookout on the city. The park was only 3.5km away, with an elevation of 144m (not much). Like I said, it wasn’t hot and the previous day we had sat in a park all day waiting for our bus. I knew it would be a completely reasonable walk, as I had already done it myself last year. If you’re asking yourself why I'm giving such detail, it's because if you ask either of my sisters or Jessica, they will tell you that it was a hike up a mountain that never seemed to end, and that I had not properly prepared them for it. They would go on to say that the park had no grass for them to collapse upon, only rocky benches. Much to their surprise we all survived and made it out in one piece.

***Janae is editing this post and I’d just like to say that when someone says “let’s go to a green space to look at a view and relax for a bit,” I’m expecting a green space that includes grass and a place to actually do that relaxing. What I am not expecting is to walk up-hill through a city (after not sleeping the night before) so that we can sit for a few seconds on a rock bench (the only green in this place was the leaves on the trees), before doing some more walking to see architecture and a view. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure Park Guell is lovely. Just not on a day with already swollen ankles and a head heavy with exhaustion. And guys, it may not have been the hottest day, but it was certainly warm.***

***Now Lynece is editing this post as well and I would like to add the fact that before we ventured out, Kiana had made it clear that there was always the option to “catch a bus whenever you guys want”. However, the three times we said that a bus would be a good idea, Kiana seemed to either ignore us or state that it “isn’t that much farther!” Now, I'm all for seeing architecture but there are a few things I need. For instance, food (one small empanada is insufficient). It would also be nice to have a true estimate of the length of the trek, as well as an actual explanation that it is in fact a trek, not just an easy walk across town.***

The following days were dedicated to beach time and tans, as well as trying to eat as much Spanish food as we could so that Jess could go home tanned and well fed (neither of these things have consistently happened in the past month). We ate paella, tapas, churros, tacos, pastries and gelato (I’m aware that the last three aren’t necessarily Spanish foods, but they are the best we’ve had in Europe so far). We learned that Jessica really loves the beach (her favourite part of the trip). She thoroughly enjoyed playing in the waves (or more accurately having them hit her in the face). She was also quite proud of her acquired tan lines; they were well fought for.

We did do some exploring as well - I took them to a park where there was more than enough grass for them all to collapse on (therefore redeeming myself). Barcelona is also known for the many architectural works of Antoni Gaudi, not the least of which includes the very famous and unfinished (under construction for the past 200yrs, its estimated completion date is in 2026), Sagrada Familia. We walked around this massive cathedral, marvelling at its size, and, frankly, its weirdness. It looks like it came out of a Dr.Seuss book. We also went to admire Gaudi’s other works, which are spread around the city, each one unique and fantastical. They always stand out in comparison to the surrounding buildings, which is an accomplishment since many of the surrounding buildings are also great and beautiful. We, of course, did some shopping (another one of Jessica's favorite activities) and, with each purchase, we lamented the ever decreasing amount of room in our packs.

Then, the very sad day came when our group of 4 was reduced to 3. Jessica returned home on the 18th (Sept). The three of us stood, waving goodbye at the gate, acutely aware of the fact that the next time Jess slept in a bed, it would be her own. We wished she could stay longer as much as we wished we could go with her. This is a feeling that traveling brings me consistently: a desire to continue exploring forever and a desire to return to the comfort and familiarity of home. I have to say that no matter the feeling, I'm deeply thankful that the more I see of the world, the more my appreciation for Alberta increases. There are many places I would really love to live and yet I’m completely content (more like thrilled) to remain a resident in the place where I grew up.

Continuing on. Our plan was to leave Barcelona for another city on the same day that Jess left. However, though Spain may be cheap for food and accommodations, transportation is ridiculously overpriced (when compared to the cost of living). On top of that, there are only two bus lines that run between Barcelona and Madrid and only one was actually open when we went to book our tickets. Also, when we tried to look for a place to stay in Madrid, the price on the weekends was double what it was during the week. Therefore, we decided, after much research and deliberation, that we would stay in Barcelona the rest of the week and would push Madrid to Sunday night. So, for the rest of our time in Barcelona we did some more beachin’, eatin’, budgeting and journaling. We then said goodbye to our beloved city of Barcelona on the 22nd...

Now, when travelling, I'm the kind of person that always plans to be very early, rather than just on time. This is to account for washroom breaks and unforeseeable delays (which seem to always arise on travel days). The night of the 22nd was no exception, but somehow my added time wasn’t quite sufficient and we ended up being just slightly rushed. As is the case with most overnight busses, there is some rearranging that needs to be done. For example, our pillows (pillow cases stuffed with clothes) need to be made up, our outfits need to be changed to allow for more comfort (you never know whether the driver will crank the heat or the AC, but either way you can bet that it will be done in the extreme). On top of that, teeth need to be brushed and valuables put into daypacks.

This all still had to be done. So, while we are usually the paranoid travellers clutching their bags every time someone passes, tonight, our tardiness made it so we were a little less observant. Our bags were left in a “that will have to do” sort of fashion. They were a little too spread out to be watched by just one person. But, as time was of the essence, that is just what happened. As Janae and I were in the bathroom, Lynece was left with our packs, and was also trying to finish her list of travel needs (pillow, blanket, socks). Suddenly, someone came and urgently asked her if the pay phone beside her was working. She responded that she didn't know, and he proceeded to walk out the door without even checking the phone. It seemed very odd to her, and she automatically looked around to see if anything had been taken. She noticed that my daypack was absent, but surmised that I'd probably brought it to the bathroom with me. It wasn't until I came back minutes later that we realized it indeed had been stolen. Luckily, I'd taken out my camera and the thief had only enough time to grab the one bag. To add a bit of extra heat to our situation, however, was the fact that we had only a little over 5min until we were supposed to be checking onto our bus. I quickly went to the nearest security guard to inform him of what happened. As this happens frequently (I can’t count the amount of times the locals had told us to keep our bags close), he was less than surprised and said that if I wanted to, I could go to the police station nearby and let them know. We didn’t have enough time for that, so I went and looked to see if maybe the thief had taken the money out of the bag and just tossed it nearby. All the while, I was praying, asking God to help me find it, even just to recover the pack itself (which I used daily to carry water, snacks, my jacket etc…). Unsuccessful, I returned to Lynece and Janae, both of whom were wondering what was taking me so long, as they were worried that we would miss our bus. We quickly went through what had been in my pack, so we knew what the damage was. I’d lost my phone, 30€ in our change purse, my journal (probably one of my most valued possessions in the pack), a Ravi Zacharias book called Jesus Among Other Gods, and my compression socks. As none of these prevented us from catching our bus, we picked up our bags and were about to leave, when there was a tap on my shoulder. Behind me stood a different security guard and in his hands was my pack. We were shocked and just started thanking him repeatedly, while he was trying to get us to actually look in the pack to see if anything was missing. When I looked through the pockets of the pack, I miraculously found that my phone was still there, as well as my journal and my book! All of them had been rearranged and moved to different pockets, so I knew that the thief had thoroughly searched through my pack, but everything was still there. The only thing I didn't find was the change purse, so I surmised that the thief must've only been looking for cash. The 30€ was small cookies (I was just glad to have my stuff back), so we reassured the guard that all was well, thanked him again, and headed for the bus, praising the Lord. We were shocked and amazed. Once seated, and with time to think, I reorganized my pack to the way that I like it. I moved my water bottle, only to find none other than our little change purse tucked underneath. Inside the purse was our 30€. Unheard of. Hilariously, the only casualty to the stolen bag crisis, in the end, was one compression sock (not a pair, just one). So now I just walk off of busses and flights with one ankle the normal size and the other the size of a small watermelon.

The cool thing is that all In all, God prepared us for both situations. Had the pack indeed not been returned, I would have lost the pack itself (which, though inconvenient, could have been replaced) and my phone (I had only taken maybe a half dozen photos on it so it wouldn't have been the worst). Furthermore, this was one of the only times that we had printed off our bus tickets, rather than keeping them on my phone, so we would still have had those. I still had my camera, which I had taken out just before going to the bathroom. Our iPad and tablet were in Janae and Lynece's packs. I would have lost my journal, which would have been sad, but, again, Janae and Lynece both have one as well, so it wouldn't have been the end of the world. The last thing that could have been lost would have been my book, which maybe the thief could have read. So, even if it had all been lost, the Lord prepared it in such a way that we would have been fine. To then have it all returned (minus the compression sock) is nothing short of a miracle, one that has humbled me and given me perspective.

---

We arrived in Madrid the next morning to an amazing sunrise. We had managed to get a hostel right in the heart of Madrid. Madrid is more European than Barcelona, in terms of its style of architecture; it's also much less touristy, so you can still really feel some of the original culture. This being my 2nd time in the city, I had many things that I wanted to share with my sisters. Most of them included food. Some of the bars in Madrid still hold the old tradition of giving free tapas (appetizers) with the purchase of a drink. This started back when there were many people living and working in Spain who still were not able to afford food. Business owners found that their employees were very hard working during the hours before lunch but after siesta time they came back a bit lazy. When they investigated, they discovered that their employees didn't have enough money to buy food for lunch so they would go home/out, have a couple drinks and go back to work feeling a little buzzed and lazy. In response, the government imposed a law that required places selling alcohol to provide a small portion of food (tapas) with the purchase of every drink, thus helping to solve the problem. Now it's become a bit of a tradition and there are still places that practice this. One night, we went to one such place. It was a tiny place, basically one small room and then a small hallway. It was absolutely packed with people. There were some tables but most people ate standing up along the edge of the room, where there was a skinny shelf/bar that was attached to all the walls. We all ordered a drink and were given 4 plates of finger food (tapas). We ate in the hallway facing the wall. Every now and then a waiter would squeeze by (literally squeeze - our backs were nearly touching the backs of the people on the other side of the hallway). It was delicious food and quite the experience.

While in Madrid we also went on our first free walking tour of the trip. Most cities offer them, but we hadn’t made it on one yet. We started the tour around 11 and it went all around the old part of the city, taking close to 3 hours. We saw the oldest operating restaurant in the world; heard about how Madrid became the capital it is today when it had originally been only a small village; learned how the country moved from kingdom, to republic, to dictatorship, to the monarchy it is today; and so on. Overall, it was way too much information to absorb at once, but we greatly enjoyed it.

Madrid also has some great parks and museums. The biggest park is acres large, we spent a little time almost everyday walking around it (more like sitting in it) and enjoying its serenity. The park was also really close to the Del Prado museum, one of the best classical art museums in the world. Fortunately for us, they offer free entrance on certain days (and at certain times) of the week. Due to its enormous size and our lack of time (you’d need a couple days, if not more, to see the whole museum), we had to be strategic on what exhibitions we wanted to see. We decided to do a little portion of the Spanish art section, along with some sculptures, as Lynece had yet to really see any. The paintings were lovely, as is the case with most classical art, in my opinion. I enjoyed how the museum had proportioned the rooms; often there were only 4 or so paintings in a room because the paintings were wall sized. Not overcrowding the art allowed me to appreciate it even more. As for the sculptures, I'm not sure if it's a normal thing that sculptures are extremely old but we saw ones that were dated to 300BC, which, for me, is mind blowing! To have something right in front of you, close enough to touch, that was created 300 years before Christ was even born (and was around when he was doing his ministry), made my head spin.

Now, 2 weeks after leaving, I'm thankful for all the adventures that Spain brought. For me, it was the place where we finally found the sun, where we had some of the best food so far, and where our group of 4 became 3. I think with each place we leave, we hope for the same thing, to someday return and redo some experiences as well as add new memories. At the same time, each new place lengthens the list of places that I want to take my parents and family (all of you!) to. Of course, I’m grateful that I get to already share these experiences with my sisters. I’ve traveled alone and with friends, but one of the most special things I’ve done is travel with my sisters. As we move from place to place, meeting new people along the way, most conversations go to who you're traveling with (friends, people you’ve met along the way etc…). One thing I’ve noticed is that when we tell people that we are sisters, people generally look surprised. We are not sure why; maybe they are surprised that we all like each other enough to go traveling together for so long. Or that we’ve all, at the same time, managed to get time away. Either way, we are grateful to have been fortunate enough that both of these factors worked out; we have God to thank and give the glory to.

Gracias ~ Kiana

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maddie-nanjingsemester · 5 years

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欢迎光临南京！Welcome to Nanjing!

你们好！Wow. Okay. How do I even start this blog post off? There’s so much that has happened within this past week since I’ve arrived that I almost don’t even know where to start – although I guess it makes sense to start at the beginning. So I’m assuming that if you’re reading this blog, you’re aware that I’m studying abroad in Nanjing, China for this whole semester. If so, great! If not, where have you been?? (Just kidding.) This first post is also probably going to be quite long because there’s a lot to talk about, but stay with me! Also, apologies for not posting this sooner – when our program advisors told us this semester was going to be busy, they weren’t lying!

What a whirlwind this first week was. (Oh and yes, technically I have been here for close to two weeks now, but I’m only going to be talking my impressions of Nanjing from the first week in this blog post, so we’ll stick with that.) I left Chicago on February 13 (Wednesday) around midnight, taking a direct flight to Incheon Airport in South Korea. I flew on Asiana Airlines, which, FYI, has great food. They served bibimbap for dinner and the meals came with little instructions on how to prepare it. 真可爱！So cute! Also super tasty.

After a 14-hour flight, during which I basically alternated sleeping and watching Netflix, we landed around 5am on Friday (Feb 15), so I pretty much lost all of Thursday (Valentine’s Day lol). Such a weird feeling to jump so far ahead in time without even really feeling like I lost any time at all. Then I had about an 8-hour layover in the airport, which normally would have been enough time to get out of the airport and see a bit of Seoul, but since we landed so early, hardly anything was even open inside the airport, let alone outside. On top of that, it was snowing and still dark out, so I elected to stay in and wander around for a while. I was also joined by my airplane seatmate, who was on her way to Thailand but wasn’t leaving until the evening. It was so nice having someone to chat with and explore the airport with.

Finally, following a slight delay, my plane to Nanjing took off a little after 1pm. By this point I was so ready to be done with plane rides that I had a bit of a hard time relaxing, but since we still had a 2.5-hour flight ahead of us, I tried to settle in and read my book nonetheless (The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling, if you’re interested). There was another girl from the program on my flight, and we found each other by the baggage claim after going through security/customs. Speaking of security, I didn’t know that you had to get fingerprinted when you went through customs in China! So I guess the government has my prints on file now. The guard was also definitely suspicious of me and kept looking at my passport photo to confirm that it was actually me (I don’t know, I guess my hair looks different now or something?), and even asked for my admission papers from Nanjing University (which, fortunately, I had with me).

After all this, thankfully there were Chinese students from the program waiting at the airport to meet us and help us get to the dorm. We got in a taxi and then had about an hour-long ride to our dorm, during which I had the chance to just sit and absorb the fact that I was actually in China for the very first time! After so much planning and worrying and traveling, I was finally here. Exhausted and ready to sleep, but here. However, because it was only around 5 or 6pm when we arrived, I didn’t want to go to bed right away because I wanted my body to start adjusting to the time difference right away. Another girl from the program who had already been here for a week offered to go walk around the neighborhood with me so I could stretch my legs some and get a first glimpse of the city. It was chilly and drizzling (it’s been raining quite a bit here), but I didn’t mind because I was just so excited to be in Nanjing! It was cool to get to see some of the nightlife on the very first night and get a feel for the neighborhood. It’s definitely a very walkable city.

The organization that I’m studying abroad with is called CIEE, partnered with Nanjing University (one of China’s top universities), and our program is called Intensive Language and Culture in Nanjing. Because it’s really focused on increase our language ability, we signed a language contract on the first day of classes saying that we would aim to speak only Chinese from Sunday-Friday 8am-8pm. In our Chinese classes, we’re basically covering two semesters-worth of material in just one semester. If you choose to live in the dorms, you also get to room with a Chinese student, which I was definitely nervous about, but so far it’s been wonderful! My roommate’s name is 源苑 (Yuányuàn) and she’s a fourth-year majoring in teaching Chinese to speakers of other languages, with plans to go on to graduate school.

The dorm we’re staying in is Nanjing University’s international students' dorm, so it’s been really cool to see all of the other foreign students here and hear a number of different languages being spoken in the elevators and hallways. The CIEE offices and classrooms are also in this building, so going to class in the mornings is incredibly convenient. (I’ve definitely almost been late to class a few times because I don’t have to leave the building, so I’ve cut it pretty close with leaving my room, taking the elevator, and getting to class with about a minute to spare.) I had originally been thinking about doing a homestay, which is the other housing option offered with this program, but ultimately I decided that I wanted to have a bit more freedom in making spontaneous plans and to be able to live more like a real Nanjing University student (体验学生的生活 – learn through the experience of living like a student). Most of the homestays are also about 30-40 minutes away by train or bus, and I was definitely worried about being late for class in the mornings. The trains and buses don’t run 24/7 either so I wouldn’t be able to stay out late with friends if I wanted to be able to get home without paying a lot of money for a taxi. Homecooked meals and getting to experience Chinese family life would be nice, but I do love the convenience of our dorm and its proximity to lots of great restaurants, as well as getting to hang out with my friends from the program whenever I want. Our dorm rooms are definitely pretty bare, but we do have our own private bathrooms! We’re also on the 10th floor, so the view ain’t half bad.

On Saturday at 9am, the day after we arrived, we started orientation, where we got to learn about Nanjing, Nanjing University, and our program. We also had the chance to go downtown, to get our metro cards and new SIM cards, and to get to know each other a little better. There are 14 of us American students in the program, mostly all from different colleges and different states. Then on Sunday, our roommates moved in! I didn’t know who my roommate was going to be until she moved in, so like I said before, I was definitely nervous, but also like I said before, 源苑 is so great. She’s very easygoing and funny, and even though we’re both busy students, we still get meals together a lot and love to chat about random things! We’ve already had some great conversations about the differences between Chinese and American schooling, culture, etc.

Here are some of my favorite things about being here so far:

The convenience store that’s literally right around the corner from our dorm

It’s the perfect place for school supplies, snacks, and basic school supplies or bathroom items, and I probably go there about once a day to pick up a snack or a notebook or something.

Learning more conversational/colloquial words and phrases

In school, we always learned the formal ways of saying things, and while these are all technically correct, they’re not how most people talk in normal conversation!

For example, I grew up learning that 对不起 (duìbuqǐ) was the best way to say “I’m sorry.” While 对不起 is correct, my roommate told me that this is actually a very formal way of saying sorry, so most Chinese say 不好意思 (bù hǎoyìsi), which is more casual. (The appropriate response, then, is 没事 – meí shì, “it’s nothing.”)

How helpful the Chinese professors and roommates are

I’m going to talk more about classes in another post, but my professors are fantastic and I’ve already learned so much. 源苑 is also so good at explaining things to me, from words or phrases that I don’t understand to items on a menu. Everyone in this program is just so willing to help us out with our Chinese!

The food, obviously!!

I’ve had a number of people ask me about all the dishes I’ve eaten, and honestly I can’t even tell you the names of everything I’ve eaten so far, but I can tell you that I’ve enjoyed every bit of it. I’ve never been a picky eater and I’ve always been somewhat adventurous when it comes to food, so I’ve pretty much been trying everything people give me.

How many trees there are everywhere!

I honestly did not expect a big Chinese city like Nanjing to be so full of trees and plants and other greenery! I’m definitely excited for it to start getting warmer out so that plants will be able to start blooming again because right now most are pretty bare. But it’s so cool to see trees basically everywhere you look, even lining the main streets.

Here are some of my not-so-favorite things:

Waiting forever for my VPN to connect so I can use the internet

I use Express VPN pretty much all the time now and overall it’s great! So far I’ve mostly been connecting to US locations (although Hong Kong works great for Netflix) and it’s nice to be able to use social media to keep up-to-date with things happening back home. But at certain times during the day, especially in the evening, I have a hard time getting a quick connection, and then websites take a long time to load. I also sometimes have a problem where my VPN is working fine on my computer but not at all on my phone, or vice versa. And then sometimes the servers just won’t connect at all.

Not having a kitchen!!

I love making my own food, and last semester I went down to a very small meal plan so I could make a lot of my own food. Senior year I’m also planning on going off meal plan completely. Here though, I either have to go out for every meal or make instant food in the microwave/with hot water. This can be hard when it’s cold out, or when I’m busy with homework, or when I don’t feel like spending another 30-40元 on a meal. Fortunately, the cafeteria is now open (even though it’s about a 20-minute walk away), and supposedly it’s pretty cheap, so that’ll definitely help.

Having to wait nearly an hour for water to heat up enough to take a shower

In our dorm, we don’t have instantaneous hot water like we do back in the US, so if we want to take a hot shower, we have to turn on the water heater at least an hour before we want to shower in order for it to heat up sufficiently. I don’t like showering at night because going to sleep when my hair is still damp does not do good things for my hair (I showered in the evening last week and then woke up in the morning with all of my hair standing up). If I want to shower before class, I have to wake up at 6 to turn the water on so then I can shower a little after 7. And for someone who takes 5-minute showers, 这是很不方便 (this is not very convenient)!

Not being able to use an American credit card at most stores and restaurants

This one has been quite surprising. I got a travel credit card before I came here for the perk of not having transaction fees, and I assumed that I’d probably be able to use it at most stores and restaurants. However, every place that I’ve been to so far (from Walmart to the convenience store) has only taken Chinese cards. I’m going to delve into this issue in a later post, but it’s for sure not the most convenient to use cash everywhere I go.

However, while these things are inconvenient, I’ve always been one to go with the flow, so I’m making adjustments in my expectations/normal ways of living in accordance with these (mostly) minor hassles. This whole trip is supposed to be a learning experience after all!

In my next post, I’ll go into more detail about my weekly schedule and what my classes are like, and I’ll talk more about what it’s like to have to speak Chinese nearly all the time, so stay tuned!

xoxo 梅迪~

#nanjing #china #semester abroad #study abroad

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canaryatlaw · 5 years

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alright, well today has certainly been interesting. my alarm went off bright and early at 7:30, and though I was tired of course the adrenaline for today’s events kicked in pretty quickly and I was off getting ready. I did my makeup to make sure it was impeccable (and it did turn out really nice) and got my freshly dry cleaned suit on with all its buttons and such. Spent about ten minutes eating breakfast before getting an uber to the juvenile courthouse. I was still feeling kind of tired so I decided it would be a good time to use a piece of my caffeine gum, which starts as like a hard tablet thing then turns into gum as you chew it (kinda like a gumball). So I’m chewing it and I’m like wtf there’s like something hard in the gum??? so I pulled it out and oh, that’s definitely a piece of tooth. great. I have about a billion fillings so I figured it had to be one of those, so the first place i checked was the last one that had gotten done that wasn’t all that stable but it was fine, and it ended up being the last tooth on the top left side of my mouth. Well, not much I can do about it at the moment. I got dropped off at the courthouse around 9:15 and just decided to wait around for a few minutes since it wasn’t terribly cold out rather than find another place to stake out for a bit. so I called my dentist’s office and told them what happened, and they said I could come in today at 11:30 or 2:30, I wasn’t sure I’d make it back from the interview for the 11:30 so we decided on the 2:30. I waited a couple more minutes before going inside and going through security, I swear it was the same sheriff that manned that security check point my first summer there that was so much better than the other ones, but after that first summer I moved and my public transit was closer to the other entrance. but they let me through easily, even though I definitely did set off the metal detector 😂story of my life. so I went up to the 4th floor where their office is and ran to the bathroom by the elevators right outside their actual office to make sure everything was good and kill a few more minutes so I wasn’t too obscenely early. Once I figured it would be a decent time to go in I headed in, the email instruction had said to you know let the receptionist know your name and that you’re here for an interview, except I knew the receptionist, so I didn’t have to do any of that lol. They gave me a standard employment application to fill out (which I’ve filled out for them before) which stated you didn’t have to rewrite any info that was on your resume, you could just write see resume, so that’s a lot less annoying, and to email a reference list in afterwards. So I finished that and gave it back, then a few minutes later the woman I’ve been communicating via email with, who I also know, came and got me to take me back to the conference room, which is in the back of the office, so while we were walking there she was like oh I love your suit that’s so cool, is it custom?? so that was cool to hear, I said it was and that a former employer had decided to get it for all of us and she was like awesome, my husband has a custom suit he loves lol. Once we reached the conference room she walked me in and, unsurprisingly, I knew the two people on the other side of the table that would be interviewing me (so just to keep track, I’ve officially known every person I’ve encountered in the office). One of them was actually in my first interview for being a law clerk way back in 2016 and then she ran the training so I knew her quite well, the other guy I didn’t know that well but I was familiar with him and he said he remembered me so that was a good sign. So they asked me about what my experience working with the office had been so I talked about the unfounded reports and the child death case and the permanency hearings and the interviews ranging between a 4 year old who’s been in her foster home for 3 days and is already calling her foster mother “mom” and wants to stay with her forever, to a 16 year old boy involuntarily in a psych ward which he would be stuck in way past the point of medical necessity (like, two months past when he was cleared after 6 days there) to the point where we had to get a court order for DCFS to place him somewhere else- so really running the gamut of different experiences here. So I talked about some of my other legal experiences like working for my dad (which is always a good one to use because I can bs it pretty freely to fit whatever I need it to be) and at the DV clinic and how I handled dealing with judges and clients and all that good stuff. They asked some question about the majority of the population they serve being African American and why I thought that was, so I said that of course the fact that 95% of parents qualify for a public defender means that the vast majority of them are living in poverty (and sadly a lot of people living in poverty in Chicago are African American), and while poverty itself is not child neglect it makes it a lot more difficult when you have to choose between going to work to feed your family and leaving your 8 and 10 year olds home alone which is child neglect, or not being able to afford a bed for your child, which is child neglect. And of course that while child abuse takes place across all socioeconomic levels, those in poverty are often in positions where their actions could be reported to DCFS a lot easier whereas someone with some social standing would probably be given the benefit of the doubt by not reporting when they see what could be evidence of abuse/neglect. There were a few other questions about using common sense and if I could give an example of how I thought that played into the job, so I talked about how when I was reviewing unfounded reports there was one against a daycare owner that had originally been indicated but was unfounded on appeal because the supposed act of abuse had been fairly minor, but the fact that the owner would treat a small child like that to begin with coupled with the fact that she lied to the parents and lied to the investigators and completely refused to cooperate were all big flags for me that this is not someone who should be entrusted with young children when they are capable of such actions, and how I took steps to ensure something was done about the situation. They wanted to know more about the child death motion so I talked about that and how I had researched it and the ultimate conclusion the judge reached that while he did not grant the motion, we were successful in convincing him he had the power to do what we were requesting, it was just the facts that he found unconvincing which of course we don’t have any control over, so I was still pleased with the outcome. And yeah, lots of questions about handling a high case load and all that good stuff, they had said since they lost a lot of staff they were down to like 3-4 attorneys per courtroom when it used to be more like 5-6 so caseloads had been rising again and that I’d have to be prepared for that. I asked them if they had a timetable as for when they would be making hiring decisions, but they were like oh yeah we have no idea, so still don’t know what to do with that other than wait I guess. So yeah, overall I think it went pretty well, I was confident in pretty much all of my answers and I think my passion for the work really followed through. So when we finished I headed out, it was like 10:40 at this point so I called the dentist office back and asked if the 11:30 was still available and they said it was, so I got an uber pool and rode it downtown to where my dentist is located. So he checked it out and got his little camera pen thing in there so I could see, basically a fairly large part of the tooth/filling had come off revealing the silver filling beneath it, which means it wasn’t a filling that we’ve done over the past 3 years I’ve been here with this dentist, but was something my New York dentist had done. The dentist said it was stable for now though, so we made an appointment for next week to put a crown on it. I took the brown line to the bus and then home which was fairly easy. After changing out of the suit I made some lunch and tried to relax for a bit, watched some Reign and made sure I sent the reference list over. I also started picking at my gel nail polish because once you start doing that it’s really hard to stop, so my nails were not in good shape by the end of the day, but that was okay because once Jess got home we met up at the nail place we’ve been going to and got manicures, and then walked over to main street and got dinner and then ice cream because ice cream is always needed for birthday celebrations, even if it’s slightly delayed. Headed home after that and looked at stuff on my phone for a while trying to figure out what I want to do tomorrow. I’m supposed to (and by that I mean I responded yes on facebook) to this event with Illinois prosecutors and government attorneys where there are a bunch of different government agencies attending and will be possible networking attorneys. And of course part of me is like just suck it up and go it could be helpful, but another part of me knows I’m really not interested in any of the options listed, I don’t want to end up in some random government office, and I highly doubt I could get hired by the SA’s office given my dearth of experience with criminal law in the actual courtroom. The one thing that might’ve been slightly interesting was the office of the inspector general, which I would be interested in as they have a division that works inside DCFS that I would love to work for, but those that are attending are apparently from the office of the executive inspector general, which just means they oversee state operations and such and basically has no connection to the DCFS branch. and I mean, what am I gonna do, hand them my resume and ask them to give it to someone at a totally different office? they’re obviously not going to do that, so at this point I’m seriously doubting going, I really just don’t think there would be anything worth going for, but I guess we’ll see. And yeah, after that I showered and got ready for bed and now I am here and I am definitely ready to pass out, so I will end this here. Goodnight darlings. Congrats on being halfway through the week.

#daily journal #March 2019 #Rachel's lawyer adventures #Jess tag #birthday

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girlwsoftsound · 7 years

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Unspoken Promise || Matty Healy Oneshot

Word Count: 2,520 Summary: “Matty and the reader have known each other since high school and have been friends with benefits. They’ve never been in a real relationship with each other and they aren't good for each other (so like drugs and alcohol). Then later the reader becomes pregnant (not Matty’s tho) and all the boys are basically fathers to this kid and one day her child goes missing?? Author’s Note: Have you ever written something that you love so much that afterwards you just sit there and think about it for a while because you love it so much? That’s me with this fic. I hope you feel the same. Be sure to throw in a like or comment if you liked it! I love seeing feedback from you all. Please feel free to read my other work here! Enjoy!

You met him when you were fifteen.

A scrawny lad with too much hair and too much time, he should not have been as attractive as he was to you. He was loud, his friends were loud, he had a carefree attitude at times when it was the opposite of what was needed, he favored music more than his grades - he should’ve been appalling. However, something about the boy with blackish-brown hair drew you to him. Something made you want to ditch class, find him in the nearest hall and push him up against the lockers just to taste the sweet and harsh taste of his lips. When he took up smoking the year after, you wanted nothing more than to catch him on ‘smoke breaks’ of his and do the same. Two months into his habit, he obliged.

It never grew more than simple fooling around. Sure, Matty loved the feel of your skin against his and, over time, grew to love the way you gave head and made him laugh. Sure, you thought Matty was the closest thing to God that you would experience on Earth and wanted to never forget the way his hands traced up and down your body. But you never pushed it past that. Matty never asked you to go steady, and you never hinted to him for him to do so. Perhaps it was the drugs he fell into, or the fact that his alcohol consumption seemed to rub off on you to the point where it became trouble. You both agreed that you would be bad for each other as anything more than friends with benefits. And that’s where things stood, all the way until the end of school.

There was something sad about saying goodbye to Matty on the last day of school. You, smart as ever, were off to an amazing university with the world practically waiting for the moment it could whisk you away to a wonderful job and a beneficial life. Matty, on the other hand, was ready to get out of school and go with his friends, his band, on a quest to get signed and become famous. Your paths were going in two very opposite, very uncertain directions. You doubted you would ever see each other again. After one last secret moment together, Matty told you he would always love and be there for you. It was not meant to be romantic love, but rather a friendly love you could trust, one that you had a feeling in the pit of your stomach would last forever and never waver through the years. Teary eyed, you told him the same back. He smiled.

Contact fizzled out in the years to come. You went through Uni, getting high marks and eventually finding yourself in the middle of your dream job, living life to the fullest and making a name for yourself in your field. You found a great guy by the name of Keith, and ended up moving into a shared apartment with him in the middle of the city. Meanwhile, Matty struggled with his band, pushing through small gigs and begging to find someone who would pick them up. They took silly gigs, gigs that barely made sense for them, just to keep the dream alive. You remembered passing by a really grimey pub on your way to a work assignment and seeing their name, The 1975, plastered on the bottom of a list of performers for the night. All the while, his bad habits continued. For whatever reason, he couldn’t catch a break. His band couldn’t catch a break. His dream was beginning to seem hopeless.

The universe has a funny way of tricking people, though.

The changes came suddenly. Walking in, tired from a busy day, wishing to fall on your bed and not waking until fully rested. Finding instead the shape of another next to Keith. A meltdown. Panicked calls to anyone, someone, who you knew could give you refuge. A pay cut in your job, because the sting of losing one consistency wasn’t enough. Tears, turning your eyes red. Overnight, the little piece of heaven you had created fell apart into shambles.

Overnight, Matty became a star.

A connection to a man name Jamie, getting signed to his label, getting played over radio stations. Suddenly, the small venues grew too small. Matty Healy, the crazed boy with bad habits and a lack of responsibility, no longer unknown to the world. Money came in faster than he could count it. Sure, drugs were easier to get and alcohol no longer took a dip in his paycheck, but he was becoming happier. They were less of a necessity. His dream was finally becoming a reality. His time to shine, realized.

He did not expect to hear your voice again.

Desperate, pleading through tears for a place to stay, crying over some boyfriend who had cheated and left you to dry, homeless, hurting. He never heard you that way, not even after failed exams and family quarrels hit you. He accepted you back into his life without question. You took up a guest bedroom, and he made sure to send any extra money he could to make sure that you were well taken care of. That’s what friends were for, after all. That’s what he had promised to do, implied he would always be there to do, all those years ago before Uni.

It’s what he continued to do when you found out on a cold winter night two months later that you were pregnant.

No questions were asked. He did not have to ask the baby’s father, nor did he want to given your shattered state on the bathroom floor, the test proving your circumstance thrown across it and hiding behind the pepto-bismol-pink bathroom sink. He held you close, kissing your forehead, rubbing your shoulders, promising you would be alright. It would be alright. He would ensure you would be alright.

You lost your job two weeks later.

Matty held you then again, promising the same.

He held those promises.

On tours, people would approach Matty with questions about you, the girl that seemed to follow them on the bus yet never could be found doing much other than watching the shows from the sidelines and grow bigger by the day. Most probably thought you a groupie Matty had impregnated and felt too bad to discard to the side. You let them think that. Matty would correct them when he could, but you did not bother with it much. You were just happy to have somewhere to go, some place to exist. Did you feel bad about living off the boys and not having a way to give back? Surely so. But Matty refused to let you do anything else. Love, after all, made people do crazy things.

When your water broke, the band thankfully was in the middle of a break, a day gap between performances. You did not expect your child to be born in America, yet there you were, whisked away to some American hospital with the boys at your side, encouraging you through the pain and the agony. Jamie, considering you part of the family after all these months of knowing you, pushed the tour date the next day back a day. It would make them have to rush to the next city, but it would give you a day to adjust, and the boys a day to watch over you. The fans would understand. They would have to. Matty wouldn’t have performed even if the concert didn’t move, because even though he had no blood relation to this baby and no reason to stick along with it, he was the closest thing to a father figure it would ever have. He’d be damned if he missed its birth.

Your daughter, Elise Grace, was born in the wee early hours of the day.

Matty was the second person to hold her.

You both were smitten.

When the concert finally was performed, Matty walked out and, on the first chance he had, gushed to the crowd about the newborn that had caused the delay in their festivities.

“She’s not mine,” he assured the crowd, “but she’s gorgeous.”

The cool thing about your circumstances, living life on the road with the boys, was the fact that they got to be there with you for all of Elise’s firsts. Her first laugh came courtesy of George, who had been playing with a toy dog a fan had thrown up on stage for Matty and, in the process of shaking it around, amused her enough to emit a small giggle. You were the first he ran to, Matty the second. The look of pride on the man’s face was a sight you never would forget.

Her first steps came at the arms of Matty. As soon as she could stand, he had her holding his hands to try to walk every second off he had. She took her first steps backstage in Prague. Matty nearly cried, he was so happy. He paraded her around for everyone soon after. You felt your heart soar at the sight. It was the happiest you were until Adam and Ross collectively got her to say her first word. You were chuffed to know they had taught her ‘Mama’.

The first concert she fully went to without having to be brought back to the tour bus to sleep, Matty brought her out on stage and gushed about her to the crowd. She had curls now, big ol’ brown ones that framed her face and made her green eyes stand out that much more. Fans were smitten with her by then as much as Matty had been the first day he spoke about her to them. The Tour Baby, she was called. Everyone loved her. They loved her even more when, feeling like doing something special, Matty sang Old MacDonald for her on stage. The amount of cameras recording the moment ensured that her first concert experience was a day that never would be forgotten.

It was as if life had finally decided to relax.

Of course, that wouldn’t do.

A hot summer day. Some town in the U.K. on some random tour date. You were walking the town with Matty, simply looking for something to do before the concert later that day, little two and a half year old Elise walking alongside you. There was a clothing shop, and you just had to explore it. The three of you dove inside. Matty went to the men’s section, and you brought Elise to the women’s. He dabbled a bit in the women’s clothing before the both of you met to pay at the register. The door was open to let out the heat. You thought Matty had hold of her. Matty thought you had hold of her. When all was paid, you realized neither of you had her. Upon searching with the store owner, everyone realized your fears had been brought to life.

Elise was lost.

Someone had her.

That was what your mind immediately thought of as you scanned the streets outside the place. A two year old could not be hard to miss walking alone in the streets, could it? Matty’s voice was frantic on the phone, calling for police and then afterwards for the band to come help look. Alerts were issued calling all in the area to look for your little girl, brown curls, her father’s nose, your kind heart, your smile. The show was cancelled, to possibly be rescheduled at a later date. No one knew for sure. Jamie said he would care about that once the little girl was back home safe. George stayed out all night looking for her, having to be brought back home by Jamie so that he didn’t harm himself from not eating, drinking, or sleeping. Ross and Adam went on separate road trips to find her in adjacent cities. You stayed at home with Matty, returning to his flat in Manchester and sitting, waiting, even praying for a phone call, a sighting, anything. His arms wrapped around you and let you sob for hours. He couldn’t stop replaying the last moment he saw her in his mind, the guilt eating him alive. Holding you was all he could do to make him not feel so shitty about the situation. His arms around you was all that was keeping you from doing the same.

You went twenty-four hours without a single call.

Twenty-four heartbreaking, paralyzing hours, full of pleads through social media and rewards being issued for her safe return. Anything to get her home.

Then, the phone rang.

You answered in seconds.

She’s okay.

Found somewhere just outside of the greater Manchester area, her hair wet from rain, but safe. You did not know if she had been dropped off there by an abductor, too scared to face the crime but also not wishing to keep her hostage from her family, or if she had somehow managed to walk there herself. You did not care. Neither did Matty. Neither did the band. All any of you cared about was that she was going to come home, she was safe, and the nightmare was going to have a happy ending.

The five of you, plus Jamie, showed up to the station to pick her up. Other than her hair being damp and her clothes a bit tattered, she looked fine. Holding her again brought some kind of elation you never imagined existed. George pet her head, Adam and Ross kissed her softly on top of her curls, and Jamie reached to squeeze her little hand. Matty stole her from your arms to hug her close to his chest the moment you were able to stop crying so hard. He let his own array of tears fall.

You had never seen him cry like that, but you supposed it was fitting. Even though he had no connection to this little girl, nothing binding him to her other than the fact he shagged you a few times back before Uni and fell for your smile and the feel of you against him, he had been there for her every step of the way. He had loved her like his own, cared for her like his own, adored her like his own. He was more of a father to her than you were certain her true father could have been had things not fallen sour between the two of you. He had every right to cry his eyes out over finding her, because though he had made his spoken promise to love you all those years ago, that promise had unspokenly carried over to apply to her as well.

It always would apply to her.

That night, Matty fell asleep with her at his side on the bus.

Upon drifting off to sleep, you briefly heard him promise to never let her fear again.

Upon drifting off to sleep, you knew he would do his best to keep that promise.

You slept well.

#matty healy #The 1975 #matty healy imagine #matty healy fic #matty healy fanfiction #matty healy preference #the 1975 fanfiction #The 1975 fic #The 1975 imagine #matthew healy imagine #matthew healy fanfic #matty x reader #matty healy x reader #matty healy oneshot #The 1975 Oneshot #oneshot #matty healy writing #The 1975 writing #Unspoken Promise

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evelynhug0 · 7 years

Text

Why Lydia from Sliding Doors isn’t as bad as I thought she is

SPOILERS!

If you haven’t seen the film and don’t care about the spoilers or if you’re not so sure about the plot anymore, read this summary from an IMDB user:

Arriving at work one morning, Helen discovers that she had been unjustifiably sacked from her PR job. She is returning home when an amazing thing happens, time reverses itself for a few seconds and a second version of herself is created. In one reality Helen catches the tube train, meets James and arrives home to find her loathsome Lothario lover Gerry cheating on her with his ex-girlfriend Lydia. In the other reality, Helen misses the tube train, gets mugged, goes to hospital and eventually arrives home to find Gerry alone in the shower. The two realities move forward in tandem; in one Helen leaves Gerry and forms a happy, new, loving relationship with James; in the other Helen's live becomes more and more wretched as she takes on two jobs to support her worthless, cheating boyfriend as he supposedly writes his novel but in fact carries on a torrid affair with Lydia. (x)

I think I have watched this movie 5 times. And I always disliked Lydia. Of course, I also thought that Gerry was an idiot. But I/we actually shouldn’t dislike Lydia more than we dislike Gerry. Gerry looks like a weak loser, a victim of Lydia. But he isn’t a victim of Lydia, he’s a victim of himself. He’s pushing himself into that victim role and uses it as an excuse to fxck around (pun not intended) with 2 women. We shouldn’t be mad at Lydia, we should be mad at Gerry because he is the real douchebag of this movie.

There are 2 “lives” in this movie, I’m gonna start with #1:

Helen misses the train and doesn’t immediately find out that Gerry is cheating on her with Lydia. Of course, Lydia knows that Gerry is Helen’s boyfriend and that her affair with Gerry could destroy that relationship but she wants to be Gerry’s girlfriend and at the beginning, she’s quite sure that Gerry will eventually leave Helen to be with her, Lydia. Gerry, who thinks that he is a poor, poor man because he has to deal with such a shitty situation, doesn’t wanna leave Helen though. He wants to have both women even though he knows that this is impossible. He can’t and I also don’t think he wants to take a decision. This is pretty shitty because he lies to Helen when she gets suspicious and he cheats on her, yet he also puts off Lydia who wants to be with him again - as his girlfriend, not just as his mistress. Lydia wants Gerry’s attention, which I think is pretty normal because she has feelings for him. She realizes that nothing will happen if she doesn’t take action. She decides to “push” Gerry and kind of pressures him. She wants him to take a decision. Lydia could also end things with Gerry and/or tell him that she’s really hurt and annoyed by him and that she doesn’t want to continue like this. Well, she chooses to pressure him. She calls him, wants to see him, stands on his porch, etc. Gerry is feeling very uncomfortable but he still doesn’t take a decision! This is very weak. Lydia once says “I'm trying to be your girlfriend Gerry! I'm trying to win you back! I'm standing on the platform at Limbo Central with my heart and soul packed in my suitcase waiting for the Gerry Fucking Express to roll in and tell me that my ticket is still valid and that I may reboard the train. Only the station announcer keeps coming on and telling me that my train has been delayed as the driver has suffered a major panic attack in Indecision City, "We suggest you take the bus"! That's what I have been trying to do, you cripple!” No matter what she does or says, Gerry is not moving. He’s far from taking a decision. Lydia finds out she’s pregnant and eventually decides to confront Helen and Gerry with the situation. Which is not the nicest thing, but it’s understandable. But otherwise, Gerry wouldn’t do anything. Lydia has waited way too often for Gerry, she is completely fed up with him not taking a decision and now that she’s pregnant, she cannot stay “the other woman” forever. She also ended the relationship of Gerry and Helen but there was no other way to finally resolve all these problems.

In life #2, Helen finds out that Gerry is cheating on her with Lydia because she sees them having sex in their bedroom. Helen ends the relationship with Gerry and he ends up with Lydia - but they are only together because Helen left Gerry. If she hadn’t done that, Gerry wouldn’t have chosen to become Lydia’s boyfriend. A few weeks later, Gerry and Lydia go for a walk and Gerry sees Helen who is having fun with her friends in a pub. Gerry realizes that he is missing her and Lydia is so annoyed - which I understand. He only chose to be with her because his girlfriend broke up with him and Lydia can feel that Gerry still has feelings for Helen. Gerry even tries to get back with Helen and invites her to his flat. While Helen is there, Lydia calls Gerry. Gerry pretends that his friend Russell called him but Helen eventually finds out that he has talked to Lydia. Lydia is very angry. Gerry, who is now her boyfriend, pretends that she is someone else. Gerry is not “standing up” for his relationship with Lydia and she knows it. She realizes that no matter what she does, he still thinks about Helen.

I never looked at Lydia and her behaviour from this point of view. She doesn’t come off as nice in the movie; well, she doesn’t have to be nice. She has the right to be mad at Gerry. Of course, Helen will get hurt too. But Gerry should have known about this before HE started to get involved in this kind of story. Gerry is the real douche of this film.

#film #film essay #lmao that tag tho #sliding doors #movie #movie interpretation #cheating #love #the other woman #cinema #my stuff

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sicklylittlesnowflake · 7 years

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Could u do a riverdale fix where jellybean comes back to visit but jughead gets really sick and try's to hide it from her but she finds out anyway and takes care of him?

(Omfg let me tell u how much I loved this prompt. This was some good shit!! One of my fav tropes is older brother who loves his lil sibling and hates showing his weaker side!!! Also, this took a while, and I’m sorry, because I lost track and this ended up longer than expected! So sorry for the delay!)

There were three and a half things that made Jughead happy, the stars in his dark night sky of a life. Archie Andrews, Burgers, his dad half of the time, and of course, his beautiful sister, Jellybean.

Jughead was no stranger to misfortunes and heartache. His life was just a series of unfortunate events and emotional turmoil. With his father in jail, and undeservedly so, at least not for that much time, in his opinion, and him feeling unwanted in the Andrews house, his mother basically telling him to fuck off, and his increasingly worsening depression and anxiety.

Jughead could barely get out of bed (or rather the garage couch) these days, and only really left when Archie came over worried out of his mind. He just felt so empty and lonely, despite Archie being there. He appreciated Archie, he really did, and was so grateful for this ray of sunshine but his heart was yearning for family.

When his phone rang at a strange hour, he expected some wrong number of some sort. However, when he heard the sound of a sweet, little girl’s voice Jughead felt this surge of happiness that he hadn’t felt in so long, and in that second he felt whole.

“Juggie?! This better be you because I stole this number off mom–”

“Yes, yes, JB, it’s me, it’s me!”

They spent the night talking and catching up–Jughead just cherishing the sound of her voice, like it could all just disappear from him again. He listened to her stories about random things, new shows she liked, whatever. He had missed her so much; he had always been aware of the hole in his heart from her absence, but he had only realised the size of it in that moment. He had been so afraid of losing her, one of the few things that made him happy, and he was sure he was losing her but she was right here. She was here, and tears started to trickle down his cheeks, and for the first time in forever they were tears of joy.

It took Jellybean three consecutive nights of screaming and crying, but it was finally decided she would take the long weekend to see Jughead.

Of course, Jughead’s mom refused to come, some excuse about work, but of course Jughead knew it wasn’t about that. However, he wasn’t even thinking about his mom, because he was too busy thinking about Jellybean.

Fred was off doing something for work that weekend, so he offered to let Jellybean use his room whilst he was gone. Archie had been helping Jughead plan activities and foods to buy, and what movies to watch. Each day leading up to the Friday Evening she’d arrive was agonisingly slow. It was like Jughead’s life was actually cooperating.

But of course on the Thursday, Jughead woke up at 4 in the morning to a relentless and never ending sneezing fit.

Archie was up in an instant, grabbing a box of tissues from his drawer, a few left from the last time Jughead was sick (which wasn’t too long ago, at all) and offered them to him once the fit had ended.

Jughead sniffled hard and accepted the tissues gratefully, pressing them against his nose and rubbing irritably. He looked up to see Archie’s concerned gaze, and when the redhead was about to speak he cut him off.

“Archie–I’m fine,” Jughead pressed, and gave his nose one last run before flopping back against his bed and pulling the blankets over him, knocked out in a second.

Archie sighed, whispering to himself, “This is what you get for sleeping in the garage..”

However he did lightly press a hand against Jughead’s cheek, which was slightly warm. He frowned, knowing what was coming and left the tissue box next to him just in case, before heading back to sleep.

Needless to say, Jughead was not looking his best the next morning.

“Well–I hope you and Jughead have a good weekend, so as per usual, be safe, don’t do anything stupid. This is really good for Jughead, he really needs this,” Fred chatted idly, walking around doing various things.

Archie nodded, drinking his OJ but looking slightly concerned.

“Wait, what’s up, Arch?” Fred asked, but Archie didn’t even have to reply because Jughead walked into the kitchen that moment looking horrible.

“Oh no,” Fred muttered under his breath. This again.

Jughead approached the breakfast bar to sit when he was interrupted by a powerful sneeze that bended him at the waist, making Archie slightly startled.

“Excuse me,” Jughead said in embarrassment, rubbing a finger under his nose.

Fred walked up to the boy and went to feel his forehead when Jughead ducked away. Fred glared at the boy and put his hand on anyway, despite his protests and groaning.

“Yep, definitely warm..oh god, now I don’t want to leave you–”

“I’m fine, Mr Andrews, really,” Jughead protested.

“He’s not fine dad,” Archie insisted, “..but..I can do this, dad. I’ve done this a million times before, and if there is an emergency, the Coopers are next door.”

Fred sighed, “Just make sure he doesn’t die, Archie. I don’t trust him to keep himself alive, and also you’re both staying home from school today. Jughead, you need as much rest as possible until Jellybean comes home tonight, okay?”

The thought made Jughead smile amidst all the discomfort and pain of his illness, and while Archie was happy for his best friend, he was also worried.

Jughead was not any better by the time they had to leave for the bus station. Jughead would sneeze every minute, and he started to develop this chesty cough. Walking to the bus stop in this winter weather would not help Jughead at all.

Jughead would be taken over by a harsh fit of sneezing every minute or so, his nose changing from a shade of pink to deep red every time. Archie was just thankful he had thought to bring some tissues for him.

“Bless you–Jug, listen–”

“I’m fine, Archie,” Jughead pressed again, firm and strong in tone.

Archie sighed, normally he wouldn’t let Jughead win, but he knew that it would rip Jughead to shreds if he tried to take this away from him. Jughead was hurting, and it seemed Jellybean was the only thing that could take all that pain away, even if just for a little while. Anything to make his best friend feel happy again.

He just hoped he’d be okay.

Jughead waited anxiously for the bus to arrive, checking his watch every few seconds. He wrung his hands, bounced his leg, bit his lip, whatever he could to fidget. Heck, Archie was anxious for him.

Then, the bus from Toledo arrived, pulling into the parking lot. Jughead jumped out of his seat and ran over to the bus door, and waited as people began to pour out and suddenly, his body froze as he saw her.

Jellybean thanked the bus driver cheerily, and she turned to go down, and then she saw him. God, she grew even more beautiful. Her hair has grown a few more inches, and she was wearing a Pink Floyd tee and the Pearl Jam backpack Jughead had given to her for her birthday.

When her eyes landed on Jughead, her eyes widened and her entire face lit up, she looked so happy and lively that Jughead’s heart lit with a passionate fire.

She ran down the stairs and leaped out of the bus into Jughead’s open arms, squealing with happiness. She held her older brother tight, squeezing him with so much love, love that Jughead had been yearning for for so long.

Holding her in his arms like this felt like a distant memory, like a fantasy, a dream that was finally coming true. It felt too fantastical to be possibly true, and he felt little tears pricking his eyes and he struggled to keep them from pouring out of his eyes. He sniffled softly.

“You’re home, you’re home..” he croaked out, voice cracking with emotion, and with his sickness.

“So my best friend Alison is great at football–you would love her Archie–and she’s nothing like you and I Jug, she’s very different to me. But we still work, like you and Archie!” She chatted happily, holding onto her brother’s hand as they walked home from the bus stop. She still knew the way well.

Jughead smiled at her, “That’s so gre..g…hehh..”

Jughead turned away from her and sneezed loudly into his elbow, trying to restrain the sound but only succeeding in increasing the power of it and hurting his throat.

Jellybean jumped, “Bless you! You only sneeze like that when–”

Her eyes narrowed, “Juggie..”

Jughead smirked and shook his head. “Nah, you just smell awful, that’s all!” He teased, ruffling her hair only for her to whine, laughing and punching his arm.

Archie laughed with them, but felt concerned all the same.

Jellybean climbed up onto Fred’s bed and bounced on it, relishing how big the bed was, spreading out like she was a snow angel.

Jughead smiled, her giggles music to his ears. He couldn’t believe he had been deprived of this beauty for so long.

Suddenly he was snapped out of his thoughts by a prickle in his sinuses, and he tried to subtlely pinch at his nose to avoid it, and managed to ward it off for the time being.

Eventually she was curled up in bed, understandably tired, it was 12:30 am, and they’d spent the last few hours catching up and joking around.

Jughead approached her and sat at the edge of the bed, “Night, JB..”

Jellybean sat up and opened her arms, “Good night, Juggy!”

Jughead smiled softly and embraced her, holding her close, and she locked him in the embrace, refusing to let him go. It was such a lovely and warm moment.

But of course this was Jughead’s life so of course his nose began to tickle yet again.

He tried to pull away, when of course she wouldn’t let go, and he panicked, managing to clamp his hands over the lower half of his face and fell into a sneezing fit, his body shaking and racked with the force of the fit.

Once he finished, Jellybean let him go.

“..Jug..are you sick?”

Jughead sniffled wetly and shook his head, “No, no, just some dust in the air.”

Jellybean looked suspicious, but dropped it and gave him one last hug before heading off to sleep.

Jughead made his way over to Archie’s bedroom, and as he made his presence known, a packet of pills and a glass of water was being thrust in his face.

“Woah, Andrews,” Jughead blinked, rubbing at his nose as he took the supplies gratefully. He opened a packet and popped a pill into his mouth and swallowed.

Archie glared, “I gave you the water to avoid hurting your throat further.”

Jughead rolled his eyes, “I am a renowned pill popper, Archie, I think I’ll be fine.”

Archie rolled his eyes and patted at his bed, “you’re taking the bed tonight.”

Jughead shook his head profusely, “No! I’ve slept in your bed more times than you have these past few months, this is so unfair on you Archie–id rather take the couch..”

His sentence trailed off as his nose itched again, and his breath began to hitch as he desperately grabbed for a tissue, just barely enough time to cover his nose with the tissue and stifle 5 sneezes into it.

Archie frowned, “Why’d you hold them in? That’s not good for you!”

“I didn’t want Jellybean to hear!” Jughead replied, blowing his nose into the tissue.

Archie groaned, “You are impossible, Jug. You can’t hide this from her, she’s not stupid, she’s smart and you know that!”

“Yeah, but I don’t want to ruin this Archie! I ruin everything! I haven’t seen her for 8 months, Archie! It’s two days, Archie, I have her for two days and god knows when the next time I’ll see her! Will there even be a next time?! Seeing as how my life is going–”

Archie pulled the smaller boy in for a hug to shut him up, embracing the smaller boy and filling him with warmth and love.

“Jug, stop this, you’re tired, and emotional, you should just get some rest. You need as much rest as you can so you’re in the best shape you can be tomorrow, even if that’s..not 100%, you need some rest,” Archie whispered caringly.

Jughead nodded softly, sniffling a little, rubbing at his reddened nose and pulled away to give Archie a soft smile.

Archie looked at him kindly, “..on a proper bed, at least..?”

Jughead sighed, giving in as he climbed up onto Archie’s bed and snuggled into the covers, falling into a peaceful slumber.

For the most part at least, excluding the parts where he kept on waking up to sneeze and cough.

Jughead woke up at 7:20 the next morning, feeling like absolute shit.

His head was pounding and he couldn’t breathe out of his nose, and his throat felt so sore like nails were currently scratching it. He felt exhausted; but once he remembered his little sister was in the same house as him, he got up excitedly, only to groan at the head rush he received at the action.

“Jug?!” Archie yelped, waking up, overly worried.

Jughead shook his head, “Just a headache–anyway, we have to go make Jellybean breakfast! She loves pancakes and maple syrup..oh, and with bacon! C'mon!”

Archie grabbed the boy and shook his head, “medicine first.”

Jughead pouted, much like a little child, which made Archie laugh, and did as he was told, and then proceeded to make his way down to the kitchen to cook his little sister a meal, like he used to when their family was still whole.

“Rise and shine, sunshine,” Jughead joked, as he saw his sister emerging into the kitchen, already dressed in jeans and a jumper. She beamed at him, but then took a second to realise how congested her brother sounded.

“You swallow a frog, or something Jug?” She teased, hauling herself up onto the chair for the breakfast bar and beamed at the food.

“My favourite! You remembered..”

“Of course I remembered, it’s not like I’ve cooked this a million times,” Jughead said, rolling his eyes and sitting down next to Archie, who was chowing down on his food.

A tickle in his throat caused him to stifle a cough, and drink some OJ to stop the incoming fit, causing Archie and Jellybean to raise an eyebrow.

Stories were shared as food was eaten, and eventually the three finished their meals. Well, two and half. Jughead hadn’t eaten much at all; only one pancake and one piece of bacon compared to Archie and Jellybean who had eaten triple that.

“C'mon, let’s go do something, shall we? I’d love to take you the drive in, JB, but it’s gone,” Jughead said, with a hint of bitterness in his voice.

Jellybean would’ve been upset by that, and she was, but she was more concerned for her brother who sounded like a dying cat.

Just as Jughead was pulling on his thick, winter coat, a tickle in his nose caused him to stop dead, the tickle so intense his entire body was taken over by it. He hitched, nose quivering with anticipation until the eventual release, of a harsh and powerful lasting 8 sneezes.

The sheer force of the fit caused him to bend over, holding onto the wall as he sneezed to support himself. Archie was over at his side, holding him steady as he sneezed.

When it was over, he felt his knees buckling but tried to ignore it by holding onto Archie. He turned around to see Jellybean’s concerned gaze.

“Juggy, you’re sick.”

“No, I’m not–” Jughead fell into a harsh coughing fit, his chest convulsing, and he started to feel extremely dizzy, and extremely light headed. His knees buckled, unable to support him any longer and Archie scrambled to catch him, clutching him tightly as to not let him fall.

Jellybean smiled at him softly, “Juggy, I heard you coughing and sneezing last night. It’s okay, don’t worry, we all get sick..”

“No! I’m not ruining this for us, I planned to go to the Bijou to watch this double feature–of Stand By Me and ET, and I don’t want to ruin this, Jellybean! It’s been so long, and I’m not missing any moment of this because I was so dumb to catch a cold–”

“Jug! I don’t need a huge celebration; I came back here because I want to be with you. I’m here for you, just you. I could not care less if it was you in some Vanity Fair Party or you eating some popcorn with me while watching the TV. You’re enough for me, that’s all I want,” Jellybean said softly.

Jughead sniffled, “I’m sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry for. I just want you to be my brother, like old times, being normal. I want it to be simple, Jughead, just the three of us watching movies on the television. Eating snacks, drinking soda,” She pleaded.

Archie nodded, “She’s right, Jug. C'mon, I’ll get you to the couch and we can go pick out some movies for a marathon!”

Jughead gave her a small smile and nodded, finally giving in and allowing Archie to lead him away to the couch.

He was beginning to wonder what took her so long when Jellybean barged into the living room, dumping a huge pile of fluffy, warm blankets and about a dozen pillows. The two boys blinked, unsure of how this tiny girl managed to carry all of that.

She grinned, and ran back to the kitchen and returned with a few packets of chips, candy and a steaming mug of tea. She placed the mug into Jughead’s hands, and as the warmth transferred onto his shaking hands he couldn’t help but sigh in relief.

Jughead smelled the tea, and blinked, then a wide smile began to play on his lips.

“..it’s the tea you always made me when I was sick..”

Jellybean grinned, “Yeah, and you’re sick now, so as per usual, I made you this tea.”

Jughead chucked, and pulled the girl close to him, underneath the blankets. She pulled him close and let him rest his head on her shoulder, filling him with warmth and love.

It wasn’t quite the day he had expected, but it was even better. Just like this, with two of the best people in the world, who loved him, and who he loved too.

#jughead jones #archie andrews #jellybean jones #riverdale #sickfic #prompts

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cataloniadventures · 7 years

Text

Sydney Bridge Climb

June 10th 2017

I always said I wanted to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge but just thought it was too much money. A few of my friends from spring break that live in Sydney went the other day during Vivid (a festival of music, lights, arts and much more. It lasts 3 weeks in the harbour and they have light projections on the Opera House and the Bridge is all lit up.) I had planned on going to Sydney for vivid one last time with my Australian friends. But due to unforeseen circumstances, one of them couldn't come and the other one never responded to me till later in the day. So I decided tonight would be the night I went and climbed the bridge all by myself. All my other friends were busy or didn't have the money or were terrified of heights. So I went to the library to study for a few hours before heading to Sydney for the night. I decided to leave the library and head in 2 hours earlier. I am glad I did this because there were delays on the trains due to the rain. The train I originally was supposed to take had to reroute to avoid water on the tracks. I got off a stop and had to wait for a bus that would drive us to a different train station that would get us to Sydney. I met a nice girl around my age. She was living in Sydney and going to UOW. We waited forever for the bus to come pick us up. Once it arrived we had a long drive but I am glad things happened like this because I was able to see the beautiful sea cliff bridge and drive through the beautiful scenery. I sat next to my new friend on the new train once it finally came. I couldn't pronounce her name or understand where she said she was from all I know is she was from somewhere in Europe! I'm glad I met her because talking with her kept me calm in the situation the weather had put all the Sydney passengers in (there was a lot of people going to Sydney that day). I got off at Redfern and ran to catch the train to circle quay. I tripped going up the stairs and banged up my knees pretty bad and I missed my train because it was 1 minute early. I only had to wait 5 minutes for the next one but this would bring me to Circular Quay by 4:50 and I was supposed to be climbing at 5:05 pm. Of course, it was a 10-minute walk from the station to the bridge climb place. I was supposed to be there 15 minutes early so once I got off the train I called the place to let them know I was running late. I was just stressed because I left at 1:45 pm and I just arrived there at 5 pm!!! All I can say is thank God for google maps! I was able to find the bridge climb place. I checked in and the front desk guy was very nice and made sure I made it to my group climb on time. My heart was racing cause I was stressed and late and about to climb the Harbour Bridge! I was surprised they breathalyzed me before climbing (after climbing it I can see why that want to make sure everyone is sober!) I put on this gray jumpsuit and had to go through a metal detector to make sure I had nothing else left in my pockets. Then my group heading into the preparation room. We put our safety belts on. I got to talk to the people next to me. There were a lot of couples and one older family (older than me and the other couples....like 40s/50s). We had a bunch of attachments to keep us warm or anything we might need up there. I got a rain jacket, fleece, handkerchief, head light, and headphones. Everything was attached to us so it wouldn't fall off out on the bridge. I was going to take the gloves but they didn't fit my hand and I couldn't find a right and a left. It was only 15-17 degrees Celcius (so about 59-62 degrees Fahrenheit) It was actually a really nice night out and I didn't have to put any of the jackets on! We got neon green light up vivid vest. Before we left we had a test of the ladders we would be climbing out on the bridge. I made sure I held on tight and stepped on foot at a time. We climbed up the other stairs, out on our headphones and headed out. We had these things that we attached to a wire for safety. The headphones were used so we could hear our tour guide talking to us on the bridge. I was more nervous to climb this bridge than I was Skydiving or Bungee jumping! The scariest part was walking from the bridge climb center to the ladders. It was a very small walkway. climbing the ladders coming from underneath the cars to being above the cars was the scariest part. They were a lot steeper than the practice ones inside! I would have my foot on the stair and my knee could touch 2 other stairs above! I sang a song in my head to distract me. I was holding on to the handrails extremely tight. I had to keep telling myself one step at a time and not to look at the cars driving by below me. Once we got past this part I was fine. We took a picture with the rest of the bridge left to climb in the background. Our tour guide talked about the history of the bridge and how it was made. Like it took 3 people to put the rivets in the steel or that 16 people died in a span of 8 years it took to make the bridge (2 were crushed by falling granite and 1 died on his way to work...but with the health and safeties they had back then, it's surprising they didn't have more). Our guide told us how Elton John stayed at a hotel and had a piano put in on the top floor and when the hotel asked what he wanted to do with it after he left, he said to just keep it and its still there today (you can rent the room for $18,000 a night!!! and of course you have to stay a minimum of 2 nights). Also, he mentioned how Sylvester Stallone stayed at a hotel and the police raided his room for steroids but he had thrown them into the harbor. My tour then went to make a joke about how the harbor is the best place to fish because the fish are so big!!! We would pause every once and a while to catch our breath or stop and look at the view or have our picture taken. Once we got to the top we were 134 meters above sea level ( 440 feet).Since we were doing the vivid experience tour there was a light up 70s style dance floor that we got to go and dance on. It was absolutely amazing. I had a 360-degree view of the city while standing in the middle of Sydney's famous Harbour Bridge! Just looking up at the 2 Australian flags I shut my eyes and took it all in to remember forever. We headed back down to earth facing the beautiful lit up city. A famous Australian actress, Cate Blanchett, and her kids walked by us. The people around me were like omg was that really her and I was just like oh cool who was that. I am just so proud of myself for heading into the city all by myself and doing the bridge climb alone. This was something that I did for myself. I am growing up and becoming an independent woman. I live to tell the story so I hope I didn't make anyone worried. It was very safe and the company took extra precautions to make sure nothing was left on our bodies that could blow off and possibly hurt someone or cause an accident below. This was an amazing experience and I'm glad I did it during vivid because it was 100 times better. I'm also glad the rain held out. It poured on my way here and I was walking around the markets and vivid after before it started to pour again and I left. I am always grateful to experience vivid and seeing the city from the harbor bridge!

#harbourbridgeclimb #sydneyharbour #bridgeclimb #Sydney #vivid

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jiji-infires · 7 years

Text

APRICITY (pt. 1)

OC X JUNGKOOK

GENRE: FLUFF, ANGST

WORD COUNT: 2.5K

SYNOPSIS: When his roommate moves out to live with his girlfriend, Jungkook is faced with a new reality, one that includes a 5′3′’ sac of bones that is too nerdy and curious for his liking.

CHAPTER 1

Drip. Drop.

The sound of the rain cascading and shattering against the window almost matches his heartbeat, nearly falling in sync with the song he had been listening to for the last two weeks, because Jungkook is the type of person who listens to one song over and over, not to count how many times he hears it before he get bored, but to analyze every beat, every note.

To his dismay, he gets snatched from the beautiful trance he was in when his loud roommate barges in with his duffle bag over his shoulders, gushing in his phone speaker like a gossipy aunt on thanksgiving. Jungkook watches his movements as he paces from the small living room to the kitchenette, and after 10 minutes of chatter over the phone the smell of black bean noodles fills his nostrils; it is Thursday and that means that it was Jimin’s turn to cook, because the pair aren’t just roommates, they have been friends for the last 8 years, and also because Jimin volunteered to cook for them once in a while for the reason that his tall friend could burn the house down if he was asked to boil some water.

“So I guess I’ll see you soon, huh?” Jimin whispers sheepishly into the phone, trying to hide the smile that reached his blushing cheeks. Jungkook assumed that it’s his girlfriend he’s been talking to probably before he took the bus home; despite him trying to give a tough guy image, Jimin is a helpless romantic when it comes to Seulgi, his soul mate, he always acts as if he had just met her on a first date when in reality the two have been dating for the past three years, and poor Jungkook had to witness all the PDA and cringe-worthy moments of the couple.

After the food is set on the table, the younger one takes a seat across from his friend and dives in, briefly wondering how cooking will go after Jimin moves out. As if on cue, the later raises his head and looks at Jungkook.

“Are you sure you’ll be fine on your own? I mean, I can delay it you know, in case you’re already feeling sulky”. Jungkook resists the urge to throw a spoonful of rice at him as he smiles mischievously.

“I’m not a baby, I’m going to survive” Jungkook shrugs and busies his mouth with food, ignoring Jimin’s teasing and kicking from under the table “although I will have no one shorter than me to look down on, chibi boy” he smirks.

“I grew 0.2 cm tall since the last four months” he whines and the other laughs at his failed attempt to counterattack. Dinners would go like this when both of them are home.

The house where they’re staying at was rented by them a month ago, since they knew that both of them got admitted to the same school; SIU, Seoul International University. The house contains two bedrooms, a living room, a bathroom, and a kitchenette that leads to the balcony overlooking a kid’s playground. The rent was no problem for Jungkook, after all he is the son of a wealthy family from Busan, and he only agreed to take a small sum of money for the rent and other utilities after his mother’s desperate persuasion, while Jimin is on a scholarship. Both of them worked in delivery and they earn a sum to go by, providing their necessities and saving some for emergencies, and going out. He knows that even with him moving out, they will still hang out together; also Seulgi’s house is only four blocks away.

“By the way,” Jimin says as he collapses on the couch next to his friend, “I found you someone to split the rent with”

Jungkook frowns for a moment, not even wondering who it might be, but actually surprised because his friend already took care of that.

“And who might it be?” he asks, completely disinterested.

“It’s Taehyung’s cousin, she’s a really nice person. You will love her!” Jimin gushes, “Although I’m not too sure if she’d tolerate your loud snoring from across the living room”. He ignores his friend’s insult and focuses on his first sentence; he just said that a girl will be moving in, a girl… not that he’s complaining but it could be worse since he mentioned that she’s Taehyung’s cousin, which means that she’ll most likely be as loud as his tanned friend.

“You look distressed” Jimin remarks

“No, I’m not. I don’t mind sharing this apartment with an elephant, as long as it’s neat and quiet” he defends back, ending the conversation with a shrug and a sleepy yawn.

Sigh. Two suitcases and a backpack full of clothes, toiletries, a dozen of books, and other daily items that Jisoo has been dragging for the past twenty minutes. The windy weather isn’t helping either as her hair keeps slapping her in face repeatedly also her stomach growls every now and then for she hasn’t eaten anything for at least six hours. Her body feels like crumbling any moment now as her train took three hours to get her to her destination after a whole ordeal of technical issues on the engine, and she still has to take the bus which will drive for probably another hour until she arrives at the park where her friend is supposed to be waiting for her. This whole Daegu to Seoul thing is too tiring for her petite health but it’s all for the sake of going to the one university she’s been dreaming of her entire life. She rests her head against the cold bus window and listens to her favorite Zion.T song; Just featuring Crush. Her peaceful trance is interrupted with loud bickering and she opens her eyes to complaints from several passengers who were already leaving the bus after the driver announced that he has encountered an issue concerning the breaks and that he has to stop to guaranty the passengers’ safety. Unpleased, Jisoo hops off the bus a couple of station before where she’s supposed to stop, and to make matters worse, her suitcase’s zipper decides to get stuck to the fence by which she was walking, making her yank her baggage in anger and knocking every item inside in the process.

“Great way to start in Seoul” she mumbles out loud to herself with a slight roll of the eyes as she packs her thing back in, sighing internally a couple of hundred times until she reaches the park her friend told her about, and like on cue, her phone buzzes.

“Jimin were you at?” she asks, almost whining into the phone. He laughs at her unexpected greeting and asks her to turn left, and she sees him, standing next to garbage bin with his ripped jeans, black sweater and a black beanie. His smile hasn’t changed, she notices that as he approaches her with open arms and she walks up to him, her luggage behind, feeling happily engulfed in his warm embrace.

“How’s my favorite Dongsaeng doing?”

“Alive and breathing” she sighs as they both pull out. Being a gentleman, Jimin leans over and takes the suitcases and they both walk through the park catching up on things from his last trip to Daegu. They cross the street, walk a couple of blocks until they reach the building where she’s supposed to stay for the rest of the year.

“This is it” Jimin says and she looks up; it looks quiet neat, painted in white and gray, her favorite colors. They climb the stairs to the third floor and he opens the door, ushering her inside her new apartment. To be honest, it looks really clean and tidy, and she’s surprised at that because two men are occupying this place, and from what she knows, Jimin isn’t the most organized person, so she guesses it might be the other boy. She herself wondered why she hasn’t sent her file to the Domicile Department earlier, but she is reminded of the issues she encountered in her home town before getting a proper chance to leave, once and for all. Lucky she has a friend to rely on; she wanted to ask him before if she could stay with Seulgi; you know, staying with a person of the same sex wouldn’t be as awkward or difficult as sharing a house with a male, but she decided not to since the guy has been waiting since forever probably to be with his girlfriend.

“Jungkook is probably at his part-time job” Jimin says absently. So his name is Jungkook, she thinks to herself and puts her backpack down, releasing a very long and heavy sigh that she’s been keeping since she left Daegu.

“You okay?!” he asks as he approaches with a can of soda, and she snickers at how small his hands are, making him scowl for a moment before he shakes his head.

“So tell me,” Jisoo leans on her knees, “how is it going in SIU?”

“Pretty lit, you might get bullied though” Jimin laughs; everything for him is lit, it’s his favorite word “You know how it’s one of the most prestigious art universities in Korea, so people either pay to get in, or work their asses off, just like you did sweetie. Now, the thing is, and I don’t know for what reason, people like you are the most tested, by institutors and also by fellow students”

“You mean bullied” she cuts in with a brow raised up

“Not bullied, but people out there are really competitive; they’d do anything to be on top” he says and she shrugs, she truly doesn’t care about anyone as long as she can work on her music in peace. “Anyway, I would’ve loved to stay here and introduce you to your roommate, but I have to go” he makes to stand up and her eyes follow, looking up at him with puppy eyes although she has no idea she’s making them.

“Don’t be sad, you’ll probably see me tomorrow” he flicks her forehead before leaving after giving her some instructions about where everything is in case she needs anything.

As much as she wants to neatly put her stuff in the closet, she just leaves her bags on the floor and changes into pajamas, ready to go to bed when she hears a loud thud on the wall. She ignores it, pretending that she didn’t even hear it when it comes for the second, third, fourth time with a small yelp. The young girl leaves her room with a frown molding her eyebrows together, her ears following the sound that’s getting louder and louder as she reaches a wooden door situated a few steps away from her new room. As far as she knows, her roommate isn’t there, so it would be impossible that the noise comes from him. With hesitance in her movement, her hand wraps around the doorknob to twist it in one final motion and reveal the source of her distress: a ball of fluff leaps out into her lap as she stumbles back and trips on her own feet, falling flat on her ass and facing what she seems to her as the cutest animal alive; a grey husky with bright shining ice blue eyes, it looked so small in her lap and she can’t help but smile at it as it liked her face with its small tongue.

“Hi there, little guy” she smiles and yawns as she picks it up in her arms, closing the opened door before heading to her room and snuggling under the blankets, leaving the dog in the hall to get some fresh air after assuming that he was probably locked up in that room the whole day.

With fatigue accumulating on her frail body, she quickly falls asleep, forgetting about her exhaustion and hunger, she can barely hear soft muttering and yelps from the small dog as her last conscious thought seeps out of her mind and soon, she finds herself surrendering to deep slumber.

It’s already 02:30 when Jungkook comes back home with his back over his shoulder, beat, sweaty and mostly hungry. Throwing the bag against the floor, he heads to the kitchen and brings up a cup of instant chicken noodles and puts the right ratio of rice and water in the rice cooker, setting the timer for a few minutes before he makes a bee line to the shower. A nasty odor rises the closer he gets to the door, so he pushes it open to find Juno putting his cookies on the bathroom mat.

“How the hell did you get in here?!” he demands in a low voice, as if the dog can understand his words. What he wants to know is how it left the room while he’s sure he closed it the afternoon before leaving for his dance practice. He just assumes that Jimin went in to get something and released Juno in process.

After cleaning the spot and taking a quick hot shower, he makes it to the kitchen where he takes off the lid, stirring the noodles that were already overcooked and putting some rice in a plate, leaving the rest of it for the next day’s breakfast. As he is slurping down his food, it occurs to him that maybe it wasn’t Jimin who opened the door, but probably his new roommate who he hasn’t had the chance to meet if she already moved in. he chases the thought away as he remembers that there weren’t any female items in the shared bathroom. But maybe she hasn’t unpacked yet.

He dismisses the idea and cleans up after himself and the dog that just has finished eating. It hasn’t rained all day and frankly, he misses it. He loves the sound it makes as it softly hits the glass, the smell it leaves after it soaks the ground, and the strange feeling of nostalgia for something he never experienced.

Juno is already waiting for his master, and the mattress sinks low with Jungkook’s weight as he takes his notebook and pen and lies down, drawing whatever comes to his spirit, left hand moving idly to draw intricate patterns, revealing the face of a young female he has never met before, someone he never consciously imagined, but probably his ideal that is trapped in the back of his mind.

Eyes, he always starts with them, as they are the window to one’s soul, or so they say. Almond shaped with a fixed glare, he decided that it was time he put some color in there and he knew which one to pick; he loved to play with every shade of the brown, and while it wasn’t his favorite color, he still choose it every time he draws the eyes, just because it sends a fleeting sense of warmth trough him, even for a brief moment.

After a couple of minutes, he sets everything aside, yawning into his fisted palm as he reaches a hand to turn the lights off, only the faint glow of the moon eliminating a part of his room ever so slightly. He surrenders to sleep quicker than he could imagine, only bits of his fogged awareness still traced with memories from the past, unfinished drawings, and a face he has never met or maybe wishes to meet in the future.

woah! This is my first time publishing a story on tumblr. This is already posted on Wattpad and Army Amino but I thought I’d share it here as well. I also made the poster myself, so excuse my very poor editing skills ;__;

#bts jungkook #bts #jungkook #bts scenarios #bts fanfic #fanfic #bts stories

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edinfurs · 7 years

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Edinburgh Fursuiting Meet - 11th February 2017

So some of you might be wondering: when are we going to get another fursuiting meet? It has been nearly 3 months now! Well, here's your answer. The fursuiting meet had to be postponed just a little later than normal due to personal circumstances, hence why it's now in February instead of January.

The Edinburgh fursuiting crew will be going bowling once again, and all of you(*) are invited to join us! Fursuiters and non-fursuiters alike are welcome to join in a day's celebration of throwing-a-5-to-20-pound-ball-at-some-pins-and-trying-to-smash-them-up-so-good-none-of-them-are-left-standing! So, without further ado, here's our venue!

Our Venue...

Tenpin Bowling - Fountain Park, Fountain Bridge, Dundee Street, Edinburgh EH11 1AW

The facility includes;

Bowling, FREE FOR SUITER! For everyone else at 6,05 a head I have managed to secure us a pretty decent discount off of the normal adult prices.

Pool Tables, for holding mini fursuit & non-fursuiter pool tournaments.

Arcade, for those who don't like bowling as much and/or for those who want to waste some money after the bowling playing video games!

I have booked 3 lanes for us, for an estimated 15 people. This does not mean that we don't accept any more! Anyone(*) is welcome to attend the event to come and watch, play on the pool tables, enjoy the arcade etc. If we do have more than 15 bowlers, all it means is that I'll have to extend the bowling reservation! A task easily accomplished (hopefully).

As this is a public venue, we would like to remind you that its pretty much common sense to respect other patrons who will be also bowling there that day. As a change to the norm I got the three bowling alleys closest to the door for us this time, for that little bit of extra fresh airtm.

Cost of Bowling

Just to make this very clear, yes this event does cost money! It's not a lot though compared to what it would cost the average joe. I have talked with the manager and he was happy to reduce our cost for bowling from the normal 7.55 a pop for adults to the child fee of 6.05 a head. Please try and make sure you have enough cash change at hand as I will be having to pay the people by card on the day and people will be paying me their share of the cost in cash and I don't usually have a lot of change at hand. I will love you forever if you give me a 5 pound note instead of 5 pound coins, it weighs down my bundle very much.

As an added extra, the manager said that suiters can go free! This is unfortunately not something he can actually promise so far ahead, so fingers crossed!

Times and Places

Edinburgh Fursuit Meet Schedule - 11th February 2017

TIME LOCATION DETAILS

11:30 - 12:15 - Haymarket Train Station Will be waiting around the area in the middle of the station

12:15 - 14:00 - Lunch There's plenty of food places at Haymarket and the Fountain Park, Pizza hut, Indian all-you-can-eat, other stuff

14:00 - 15:00 - Suit up! Lock 'n load! Lets get ready to RUMBLEEEE!!!!

15:00 - 16:00 - Fursuit Bowling I've reserved the lanes for 3pm, we should be there at LEAST 15 minutes beforehand, probably earlier

16:00 - Onw.. - Cooldown Get your heads off and cool down a bit with a cool drink? I haven't organised it yet, but if people are interested I can book a table somewhere?

Traveling Here

If travelling by train or bus, always good to check for any delays and works. If you come by train, I would suggest going for Haymarket train station, as it is the closest. From there, it's about 10 minutes walk to Fountain Park.

If travelling by car, Fountain Park has its own parking garage, free of charge if you're making use of the venues, for up to 4 hours. So either, you leave after 4 hours, or you take your car for a very short spin through the gates and back in. Cheating a little bit, but I don't blame you.

If travelling by bus, Fountain Park is on the lines for many busses coming from the city center. Bus lines 1, 34, 35, 47 stop right in front of it, and 22 and 30 stop right at its back.

Fursuit Walk Previous Pictures

Can be found in the links below!

Foski's pictures of the June 2015 fursuiting meet

My pictures from 15 August 2015

Diamond's October 2015 Fursuiting meet pictures

The Rules

Rules courtesy of Reever.

Don't be a jerk, creepy or overly affectionate to people you don't know. You can TOTALLY hug people (I like them personally) but always ask first.

Respect the places we are! This means no bringing in your own food and drink (especially if you've not bought anything from the place) and treating it like your own place. Don't walk on furniture, spit chewing gum on the floor or anything that will get us kicked out. It will just get you unwelcome to the next meets.

BRING ID! Even if you are not planning to drink... if you look like you are under 25 (or ARE under 25) please PLEASE bring suitable ID. We've been barred entry from pubs before when even one of us doesn't have it. Also, (and this should go without saying) If there is someone under 18 there... don't buy them alcohol. That would just be plain stupid!

Have a good time. This one is mandatory! ;P

Additional rules for those fursuiting (Foski)

Don't be ashamed to ruin 'the magic'. As suiters, we get alot of pressure not to reveal our human heads in public. Ideally you should know your limits but, if at any point, when in suit, you feel nautious, dizzy or close to fainting or is having difficulty breathing, just take off the head or notify someone that you'll be taking your head off, does not neccessarily need to be a secluded area, take a moment to cool down before commencing, someone will be on stand by to supply everyone with fresh, cool water throughout the event. You know, the kids have to grow up some time.. all the kids, apart from us!

Fill your tummy with food! It would not be recommended to go out, in suit, on an empty stomach, make sure you have had plenty of food and drink before commencing on the fursuit walk and I guarentee you'll feel better for it!

Few points on Health and Safety

Do NOT be afraid to take off your head. Just can't stress this one enough, your health is more important than some kid's ruined childhood memories. We do encourage people take off their heads for a few minutes just to cool down a bit after about an hour or suiting, though it is up to you to decide if and when you reach your limit.

First Aid and Hydration. Just like last time, I'll be bringing a first aid kit and hydration pack with me to serve everyone in suit with the much-needed water without the need to take off your head. Yes, it has a HUGE (as in long) straw you can suck on to get a drink, and it's perfectly okay to do that in public. I am also an Emergency first-aider, so if there's anything that might be important in case anything happens, allergies or other medical things, let me know and I'll make a note. I'll always be present during the event.

Getting in contact on the day

We all know how it feels to go to places you've never been before but if you're ever lost, your train is delayed or you need our assistance finding us at any time please feel free to message me on the forums (we'll make sure to check every now and again), send me a text at 0 7 - 5 4 9 4 8 6 9 0 7 or message me on Telegram @diamonddragon. You should quite easily be able to recognise me, I'm 6'2", and I will be carrying a large blue backpack with a large hose coming out the top and down the front.

For watching/arcade/photography (just post a message that you're wanting to attend, but don't want to bowl. It's so I can inform the staff of how many people to expect on the day; Fire emergency protocols)

(*) Unfortunately, it has to be said that this excludes people previously informed that they are not welcome at the event. None shall be named, you should know who you are.

For more information go to UKFur Forums: (Reg required)

https://forum.ukfur.org/topic/50765-edinburgh-fursuiting-meet-11th-february-2017/

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