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theretirementstory · 4 months

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New Years Eve has arrived, it’s normally a time for looking back over the year and remembering the high points and not so high points. I think I will give this a miss this year, I don’t want to remember being taken to hospital in an ambulance, the three small glasses of water I was allowed in a 24 hour period, or eating only natural yoghurt and puréed fruit for breakfast,lunch and dinner for 12 days 😳. So let’s just have a round up of the last week.

Christmas Day, I must have been good as I had a lot of presents and my stocking had been filled. I got two French short story books, lots of chocolates, jams, teas a calendar and money. I had already bought myself the ruby pendant I had seen in town. I prepared my lunch which took over three hours to eat but it was worth taking my time as I ate rather a lot but never felt too full. The doctor had said I could have a drink so I had a small glass of champagne.

I had Christmas messages from Indonesia, America, Pauline in Lille and Jony in Paris as well as a number from friends and family in the UK. it was a wonderful day and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

My grandchildren had their Christmas Day with Daddy and Grandad on Boxing Day. My granddaughter received an iPad and she was happy to phone me from it. My grandson received a wooden workbench so he can start creating things (we all have to start sometime 😂).

“The Photographer” received money and later in the week he bought himself additional items for his camera. Then can you believe his car started to play up and yesterday on his way home from work he had to stop the car immediately and ring the RAC! I think it’s called “Sod’s law”! These things are sent to try us and that’s exactly what they do.

“The Trainee Solicitor” also had a trying time. He and “The Ex-Graduate” had been to her parents for Xmas lunch. As they were leaving at night, he forgot there was a small step down, he missed it and went over on his ankle. He hurt it quite a bit and it was swollen and extremely bruised. Just as well he didn’t have to go to work!

Unfortunately “The Ex-Graduate” was back at work on Wednesday and has been there everyday since. Hopefully, not for much longer will she have a job where she has to stand around for hours.

The cleaner came on Thursday and brought me a gift of chocolates and bonbons. Then my neighbours came in with a big box of chocolates for me and a handwritten card wishing me all the best for 2024.

I had a walk around the garden, checking out anything that is starting to grow. I found new growth on the hellebores, the snowdrops starting to peek through and also tulips coming through in the front garden. I checked the planter I had put together in 2022 and saw that the tête à tête are starting to grow. I pulled the tubs with the cyclamen in out from under the laurel bush to give them some more daylight. One looks as if it may not recover but the other didn’t look too bad. However, we are due some heavy rain so they may need to be protected from that.

I am thrilled as my hair is growing back pretty quickly. I didn’t lose all of the hair on my eyebrows but I have lost my eyelashes. I am still wearing my hat but that is because I don’t want my head getting too cold.

On Thursday Pauline messaged to say she had had an interview for an internship in Spain. It is with a Real Estate Agency and she had to do a video for either selling or letting a property. She sent me the videos (taken in her Grandma’s house) and then I corrected a couple of things in English, center for centre, moldings for mouldings. She sent it off and a short time later she got an email to say the job was hers. She starts on the 8 January. Now she is looking for accommodation. Pauline is coming to see me this morning so I will be brought up to date.

Music has always been a big part of my life, it can bring memories flooding back and I often can’t sing along as I am choked with tears at lots of the memories. I have said previously it’s not just the lyrics it’s the music too which has the effect on me. So first today is a song from 1991, it’s The Farm and “All Together Now”. The second song is also from 1991, it is “Unfinished Sympathy” by Massive Attack.

The village down the road has a competition each year for the best dressed tree. The trees are put outside your home and there are three prizes. I loved this “Tour de France” inspired tree. It must have been difficult to judge as three trees were joint first.

At this point I would like to wish you all a happy and healthy 2024. Keep safe until we catch up again.

#memories #new year #barsuraube #photography #Christmas #family&friends #champagne #90’s music #tourdefrance #my garden

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blue-eyed-bloodstains · 1 year

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1. Do you ever go back and look through all the surveys you’ve taken? Are there any answers that make you cringe, or that you’d answer differently next time around? not really, and probably wouldn’t make me cringe cause I’m always straight up honest so...

2. What is something most everyday people don’t know or wouldn’t be able to guess about you? I went through DFS (Child Protective Services in NJ) at 12 years old and had to live with a next door neighbor for 6 months due to bad domestic violence between my parents while I was there and they were both arrested...

3. If you could have someone make you breakfast every morning, what kinds of things would you want them to make? Biscuits and gravy, bacon, hash browns smothered and covered, coffee

4. Where is the scariest place you’ve ever been? What made it so terrifying? hmm aside from home? I haven’t really been anywhere abandoned or haunted...I’d love to go!

5. Did you celebrate Easter? Are there any holidays you are more inclined to celebrate than others? If so, which? kinda I mean I don’t do anything really, used to do baskets and egg hunts and egg coloring obviously as a kid but now it’s just another day. I try to still get chocolate though lol. I celebrate pretty much any main holiday, just don’t go all out...more just try to deal and get through the family get togethers during em...holidays are pretty much ruined for me from years of them being drama and hell, and now that I can’t even drink it’s even worse..

6. If you’re on the internet, what are you most likely to be doing? Tumblr, FB, Youtube, googling something I need to look up, music

7. When was the last time you experienced a pleasant surprise? can’t remember right now cause it’s been hell breaking loose for months now...

8. What were your favorite parts of the previous week? Do you have any plans for this week? nothing really, it’s been shit...and yep I’ve got a major appointment at the cancer institute regarding setting up a major surgery on the 23rd so yeah...

9. What was the last thing you deleted? snapshots

10. What colors make up the majority of your wardrobe? Is there any color you like, but don’t wear often? black, earth tones, blue especially jeans...I can’t stand anything yellow so I never wear it

11. When was the last time you were in any amount of pain? past few days being violently sick cause of a bad chronic illness I have...chest was on fire, stomach burning, gagging real bad, neuropathy in my feet going insane, heart pounding out of my damn chest...

12. Do you have any unusual habits or preferences when it comes to food? not much I’m really not picky with food

13. Tell a fact about the last person you spoke to? she’s a manipulative, abusive, controlling, violent, vindictive bitch.

14. What is something you tend to carry with you everywhere? phone

15. What was the last thing you completed? surveys obviously

16. Do you take pictures often? What are the main subjects of your photography? not often really but...selfies, my cat, fiance

17. Post a picture of one of your favorite memories and tell the story behind it? nope not going there right now.

18. If you’re reading a book, how close are you to finishing it? Do you have any idea what you’ll read next? I need to get back into reading so bad...I’m either gonna be rereading the Harry Potter books now that I finally got the full box set again (lost em years ago in a hurricane, fiance got em for me Xmas), or Tom Felton’s book which is basically the same thing lol it’s his autobiography about growing up playing Draco among other things

19. Is there anything you’ve been more optimistic about lately? NOPE.

20. What does the sky look like right now? it’s real sunny, not sure if there’s any clouds I’ll see it in about an hour when my food gets delivered

21. What was the last thing you snacked on? chicken noodle soup and chips from Panera

22. Do you prefer fruits or vegetables? both

23. When was the last time you had to ask for help? What about the last time someone asked you? the beginning of the month when my card expired so while waiting to get a new one, I had my fiance let me use his. as for someone asking me? hmm...not sure right now

24. Where was the last place you went? How long will it be until you leave the house again? Wawa for smokes, which I lucked out given my license expired and they didn’t card me..I’m leaving on the 23rd for an appt

25. What’s the longest you’ve ever stayed inside? How about outside? haha seriously? I’m ALWAYS FUCKING INSIDE...longest outside? I’d say Camp Redcloud back in 5th grade..I think it was like near a week, give or take, it was a school trip

26. Who was the last person to hug you? Do you hug this person often? fiance, barely given his job always sending him away... :(

27. What are you most likely to argue or debate about? mental illness or medical illness and what it does to you that no one ever gets cause it’s not them.

28. What was the last show you watched? Have you seen it before, or is it something you’re watching for the first time? I have ID on in the background and yeah it’s repeats right now. it’s all crime shows and docs.

29. How would you describe your taste in clothing? What would a dream outfit look like to you? casual and comfy. I’m a tomboy so gimme a pair of jeans and a tee and I’m good. oh and a hoodie too for sure.

30. How has your day been so far? don’t....

#survey #bored #random #about me

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earnestly-endlessly · 3 years

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ah and I was looking for something like Charles Linda of lost control over his powers and Erik is the only one that can help him

Hi anon. I have got a good list of fics where Charles loses control over his powers and gets help from Erik. I hope you find some fics you enjoy.

Anchor Me – brilliantdreams

Summary: Charles is awake in the kitchen having telepathy troubles when Erik finds him. Cuddling ensues.

Cotton Walls – walrusface

Summary: In large crowds, Charles finds it difficult to control his telepathy. While they're on their recruitment road trip, Erik tries to help.

Aches and Pains – i_know_its_over

Summary: Constantly using his powers gives Charles a debilitating headache.

Idiot Control Now – cygnaut

Summary: Hank screws something up in the lab and everyone's powers increase tenfold. Not knowing how to control them like this, they all try to cope and not kill each other by mistake while Hank tries to find a way to reverse the effects. Charles has a particularly hard time of it.

With Your Kindness – helens78

Summary: Cerebro takes a lot out of Charles; a warm bath complete with washing his hair feels like the least Erik can do, but if it's all he can offer, he will.

Know That It’s True – luninosity

Summary: Using Cerebro gives Charles headaches. Erik is not happy to discover this fact.

Catch me when I fall – isabeau

Summary: Charles overdoes it on Cerebro, and doesn't learn his lesson, but Erik is there for him.

You want blood, and I promised – hllfire

Summary: When Erik kills Shaw with that coin, Charles doesn't come out of it unharmed.

Say Your Fault – seperis

Summary: Charles hasn't spoken in twenty-two days.

Honest Bone and Burning Thought – Black_Betty

Summary: And so sometimes, his mind buzzing away, bright and brilliant and humming with pure expansive energy, Charles speaks without thinking at all. Without censoring himself. Without realizing that his brain has reached out and snatched something that was never his to know, or take…

Don’t Let The Bedbugs Bite – Pillow_Bee

Summary: Charles goes around the mansion that first night he brought the mutants there to tuck them to sleep while trying his best to hold back a bitter childhood memory. Erik has his book confiscated for refusing to go to bed, and he is not happy about it.

Let your anger anchor you (your peace will bring me home) – anthora09

Summary: Charles takes an unnecessary risk and winds up in the infirmary.

Erik is not happy. (His exact words are "I told you so.")

Count to Three – Harleydoll

Summary: Charles is psychologically damaged after experiencing Shaw's death in his own mind.

I can’t leave him – sasha_b

Summary: The plane ride back from Russia.

In the Sky Tonight – luninosity

Summary: Part five of the holiday fic involves Easter, which obviously meant obligatory sex-pollen-trope fic. Recruitment road-trips, mutants with interesting abilities, sex with complicated emotions, protective Erik, boys figuring out that they’re in love.

Veiled Truths – ikeracity

Summary: Erik has dreams of a dark room, of being pushed down into the floor and violated in a way that makes him scream until his throat is raw. But Shaw never, ever touched him like that, so Erik wonders if he somehow repressed memories of Shaw's torture. Either way, he hides the dreams from Charles, intent on suffering through it alone, as he always has.

And then one day, the nightmares come when he's still awake, and he realizes that these aren't his nightmares, they're Charles's. It's Charles projecting in his sleep, and then Erik realizes that they aren't nightmares at all, they're memories from Charles's hidden past.

The Keeper on the Other Side – RyuuzaKochou

Summary: Charles Xavier's long lost step brother is back in town and it...doesn't go well. Charles and Erik find out they are still bonded and still friends from the hospital bed aftermath.

Northern Lights – garrideb

Summary: Erik experiences a frightening new aspect of Charles's telepathy while rescuing him from captivity. But while it might frighten Erik, that doesn't mean he'll run away from Charles.

Five Days – cerebel

Summary: Charles is captured. And then he is rescued.

Come Home to Me – ami_ven

Summary: “Focus on my voice, Charles, on my mind.”

Room and Board – smilebackwards

Summary: "How long had you been banging your head against the wall before I arrived?" Erik asks curiously after the resident nurse has lain Charles down on a cot and given him two ibuprofen to swallow and an icepack to hold against his head. Boarding school AU.

Enervate – tokidokifish

Summary: Charles had an abusive childhood (like in the comics, but worse) and when he finally got away, he repressed everything behind mental walls, to the point he doesn't really remember anything about it. After the events of the movie, his mental state deteriorates, and those walls come down.

In These Shadowed Halls – InkDippedFingertips

Summary: For Charles, the mansion was plagued with nightmares.

Waves Can Sink and Carry – Somnambulist

Summary: After a solo recruiting mission goes horribly wrong, a drugged and disoriented (and VERY cold) Charles shows up on the Xavier mansion doorstep. Erik patches him up as best as he can.

Third time’s the charm – Gerec

Summary: XMA ficlets and missing scenes

I’ll be your haven – inoue6

Summary: After Apocalypse used Charles to deliver his message to the world his powers grew beyond control. When Battle of Cairo was over, Erik helps Charles to cope with his telepathy let loose.

#fic recs #cherik fic recs #cherik #asks #earnestly answers

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ashtrayfloors · 4 years

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to resist despair

xmas was xmas. pretty good until c. got a sudden high fever & we had to go to the e.r.; he had strep. but he started getting better fast once he got antibiotics. xmas was good but. i always feel so sad afterwards. so grossly consumerist. like i gorged myself on food & gifts yet i’m still empty. i did try to focus some of my attention on the more spiritual aspects of the holiday(s) rather than just the commercial ones, & that helped somewhat. then my birthday: & that wasn’t a bad day either, but i felt restless & sad. lonesome, with the blue of early nightfall & missing my friends. missing being out in the world. missing desire; being desired. (remembering the days when lovers threw me hard against brick walls in alleys because they had to kiss me right now. the days when lovers said you’re too beautiful to even exist. fine, none of this exists / i only know that summer sang in me / etc.) i dyed my hair deep violet; it still mostly looks black but in the right light there’s a purple sheen. & then the new year. i did a tarot spread for the year which was scary yet exhilarating; i drew the tower but also the sun.

i spent the first ten days of the year not really writing. instead i worked on rearranging my schedule so i can stay caught up on all my various work without the near-constant burnout that was last year. & i did a lot of press-work & refilled my storehouse of inspiration with punk rock & reading.

there was a poetry reading last friday, to welcome the new poets laureate of my town & the next one south. i almost talked myself out of going because i have a weird history with one of the new p.l.s but i talked myself back in because— all this shit happened like 12 fucking years ago. i don’t wanna hold grudges about dumb shit that happened so long ago. part of the reason i lost some friends five years ago is that they held grudges about stuff that was long past & shouldn’t’ve mattered so much & i don’t wanna do the same. so i went. & it was great. food & drink & fellowship; i love my poetry people so much. i found out my friend i thought was moving to atlanta later this month isn’t moving until next year, which means i’ll get to spend more time with her. i had someone tell me that i’m one of their two favorite poets—the other being emily dickinson. i met a young trans woman who’s just getting involved in the poetry community here in se wisconsin; she said she was so glad to finally hear me read because i’m the local poet whose work she connects with the most. (& she shared one of her poems with us, & it was phenomenal.) & i had a good long talk with the guy i had that weird history with & christ, i can’t believe i was still holding on to all that. we’re both different people than we were back then. at the end of the night i told him i was looking forward to working with him over the next two years & i fucking meant it. he gave me a big hug & that’s it, grudges begone.

monday i had a session with a photographer who does tintype/wet plate photography. i needed new author photos, & i’ve been wanting my photo taken by her for a few years now, so i started saving my pennies when i found out my circus poem was going to be published. it was amazing. her studio’s in a hundred-year-old church, decorated like the inside of my heart— stars & saints, fairy lights & empty wasps’ nests, water-stained lace & secondhand sofas, cowboy guitars & candlewax dripping & crusted on every (dusty) surface. we sipped whiskey from my flask & talked poetry. she’s an amazing photographer & the photos turned out perfect. & later that night i got the second blurb back for my book. this one made me tear up, too; the writer compared my book to the waste land which, holy shit.

& sad things, scary things. our country hurtling toward the brink of another forever war. all the fucking election talk which i am already sick as hell of; i find the warren stans just as odious as the bernie bros & the infighting is exhausting. & the weirdest winter in recent memory, weather-wise— one day 19 & dry & the next 37 & raining & a few days later 50 & almost-spring-like. & all over the world— brushfires, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes. closer to home, houses & parts of the lakeshore just...gone.

& closer to my heart— my dearest oldest friend, my alien alligator, my “filia,” my not-so-brave little toaster— her partner unexpectedly passed away last week. she is constantly on my mind these days, but then she is often on my mind anyway. this spring makes thirty years that i’ve known her. & i wish, god i wish my life were still such that i could drive through the dark, to the east, to see her & help her. but i can’t, so i just mourn for her across the miles.

things are scary & sad but i refuse to let my hope die. it is something i actively tend to. i fuel it with punk & coffee & poetry. things are sad & scary but i am trying, every day, to resist despair. in the immortal words of operation ivy— to resist despair in this world is what it is to be free.

#theonceovertwice #pls no reblobs //#my writing #journal entry #life #christmas #birthdays #new year #good things #friends #sadness #climate change #filia aka ali #poetry #death #letting go #to resist despair in this world is what it is to be free

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purplesurveys · 4 years

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611

Do you want to sue someone right now? Right now, I’m eyeing someone because they pissed me off for Christmas. ...If so, who? One of my professors who held back my grades for two classes of hers that I’m enrolled in just this past semester. Have you ever been abused by a cop? Nah but there was a traffic officer who was just mean to me when I *apparently* committed a violation a few months ago. I felt verbally abused back then lmao. Do you buy new xmas pajamas every year? I don’t buy Christmas pajamas at all. What's one thing you want for Christmas? I want a Nintendo Switch and I’m pretty sure we’re getting it hahaha.

Have you ever called 911 in an emergency? We don’t have that system here, unfortunately. Have you ever been in level 10 pain (the worst pain imaginable)? I’ve been to Level 12 with my recent toothaches. It would wake me up at midnight and I’d never be able to sleep anymore. I remember frustratingly crying at like 3 AM at one point because I just wanted to fall asleep then. What is your cutest cousin's name? Among my first cousins, I’d probably pick Toffe or Sam. But of all my cousins, I’m a little partial to Bree, Ben, and Nico. Were you born in a hospital? Yes, I was. Were you born in the city you live in now? Nope. I’m glad not to be living in Manila anymore haha. Do you feel at all nauseous right now? No, not really. I’m a little nervous for this afternoon’s family gathering, but it’s not bad enough that I feel like puking. What was the last part of nature you took a picture of? Trees in UP. What is your favorite part of nature? Hmmm I love all of nature, but I particularly like being in the mountains. Do you feel like your favorite season lasts long enough? No, it never rains as much as I would like here. Did you ever want to change your name when you were little? Yeah, I HATED Robyn because I got teased mercilessly for it. I was called a boy (which was made worse by the fact that my mom used to cut my hair up to my neck), Robin Hood, I was asked where Batman was...I’ve never forgotten every single person who made fun of it, and I was also desperate to change my name by the time I was 6. My parents relented and tried calling me by my second name Isabelle, but it never caught on. What color Christmas tree do you want when you have your own house someday? Just good ol’ green would be fine. I’m starting to think that white would also look classy. Are you happy with your life right now? I’m mostly satisfied, but I’m not 100% happy. What do people accuse you of the most? I dunno, people don’t really accuse other people of stuff to their face? Lmao. Have you felt depressed at all lately? Are you kidding? It’s Christmas. It’s depression season for me. What is your current favorite kind of soup? Miso soup has been my favorite for a while. Do you feel like you're a slave to the government? I try not to be, because the government sucks. Have you ever contemplated leaving the country? I think of it AT LEAST once a day, my dude. ...because of the injustice of your country? Duh. And so much more. Do you have overdue library books? No. I did have one last month, but I returned it two weeks after its due date. What was the name of your favorite Barbie? I don’t have one. Did you give your Barbies individual names? No, I never played with Barbies a lot to begin with. Does your mom like your favorite color? She doesn’t really like pink herself but she’s supportive of the fact that it’s my favorite and buys me pink stuff if she comes across them lol. Which family member's birthday is closest to yours? My brother, whose birthday is exactly a week before mine. Which holiday is your birthday closest to? Easter Sunday, usually. Is your favorite nail polish running low? I don’t have a favorite. What is your favorite nail polish color? Do you use a sunlamp? I don’t even know what that is, so no. What is your favorite thing to do on your phone? Play Mario Kart Tour or browse Reddit. Which department store do you live closest to? SM, I think. Do you keep a diary? This is practically my diary, so yeah I guess. Which friend do you want back? I’m happy with the friends I have and have accepted the loss of those who left.

Have you ever contemplated going back to an ex because you're lonely? No. I thought about getting back with them simply because I still loved them and knew there was unfinished business that wasn’t fixed when we ended. Does your back hurt right now at all? It’s not giving me a hard time right now, no. What magazine would you like to subscribe to? No thanks. Do you think you would look good on the cover of a magazine? Blech, no. Have you ever wished you were born in a different country? Yes. Do you ever get praised for doing a good job? Sure. Do you wish you had someone on your side? I have people on my side. Would you pretend you were suicidal because a nurse wanted you to? That’s...sick. LOL no? ...or because a youth leader wanted you to? ??? ...or because a stranger wanted you to? What does it even mean to pretend to be suicidal??? Do your peers label you as depressed and reject you because of it? They know I’m depressed and occasionally suicidal but they don’t reject me, because everyone else seems to be depressed and suicidal too. Who was the last person you met who wasn't toxic? Justine. We’re not close by any means, but I don’t peg her as toxic either. Do you feel like your life is just work, work, work, with no reward? No. There are lots of rewards here and there. I just have to know where to look. Do you ever get praised for your hard work? Sure. Do you ever get tired of the abuse and just want to quit? That’s a little too heavy for Christmas eve lmao but yeah I guess. Do you wish there were penalties for abuse in your country? Abuse is a very broad word dude. But yes, penalties for that kind of stuff are always welcome for me. Do you wish there were a refuge for the abused in your country? Sure. Do you wish you had a safe place you could go where people cared about you? I do. It’s called my org. Do you feel happy right now? I’m feeling content but I think it’s a little selfish to claim happiness right now because I don’t think I am. What color were the last pair of pajamas you wore? I don’t wear pajamas cos I find them too warm heh.

Do you put sugar in your tea? I don’t drink tea. What's one childhood dream that has stuck with you? Being involved with WWE in some way or another. Does anyone encourage you to go after your dreams? Of course. ^Did that last statement bring pain with it? No? What color was the last mug you drank out of? White, but it’s one of those mugs that changes colors if it’s hot so that I’d know...well, if my drink is still hot. Do you feel hot today? No. The downstairs aircon has been on all morning so I’m freezing. What was your favorite book you had to read for school? Without Seeing the Dawn by Stevan Javellana. Are you exhausted? A bit, yes. How many tabletop Christmas trees do you have? Zero. Do you think skydiving sounds fun? Yes. Who do you know who has been skydiving? I don’t think so. Do you itch right now? Nope. What is the ugliest animal known to man (in your opinion)? Cockroaches. Do you eat meat? I do. Have you ever purchased a poinsettia? I haven’t. Do you like poinsettias? They’re okay. Would you want your bday to be on a holiday? My birthday fell on a holiday this year and it’s safe to say that IT SUCKS, because no one will be available to celebrate your birthday with you.

#survey #surveys

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eldritchsurveys · 4 years

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600.

Do you want to sue someone right now? If so, who? >> Nope.

Have you ever been abused by a cop? >> No.

Do you buy new xmas pajamas every year? >> No, but that seems to be a tradition that Sparrow’s family does? Christmas pajamas? I’d never heard of it before now.

What's one thing you want for Christmas? >> Money. I’m so broke. Also, what I fucking want is for that Etsy seller to answer my damn message and either send me what I ordered or refund me. I hate it when sellers don’t even bother answering their messages when they were supposed to ship something two fucking weeks ago.

Have you ever called 911 in an emergency? >> Yeah.

Have you ever been in level 10 pain (the worst pain imaginable)? >> I’ve experienced the worst pain imaginable for my experience. I can’t imagine anything outside of my experience, so.

What is your cutest cousin's name? >> ---

Were you born in a hospital? >> Yeah.

Were you born in the city you live in now? >> No.

Do you feel at all nauseous right now? >> Nope.

What was the last part of nature you took a picture of? >> Probably some snow-covered trees back in November.

What is your favorite part of nature? >> I don’t have a favourite part. It’s all good.

Do you feel like your favorite season lasts long enough? >> No.

Did you ever want to change your name when you were little? >> I changed the name I used for myself constantly when I was little. Not that anyone else paid any attention.

What color Christmas tree do you want when you have your own house someday? >> White is pretty, but Sparrow wants to get real trees when we have a house so I guess we’ll be doing that.

Are you happy with your life right now? >> Sure.

What do people accuse you of the most? >> I don’t find myself accused of much of anything.

Have you felt depressed at all lately? >> A little, when winter was first settling in.

What is your current favorite kind of soup? >> Tomato, but the good kind.

Do you feel like you're a slave to the government? >> No.

Have you ever contemplated leaving the country? because of the injustice of your country? >> Leaving the country is not only financially unfeasible, it’s just... not really a solution, for me. I don’t glorify other countries just because they have this thing or that thing -- they all have their downsides. Some countries have downsides that might be more immediately harmful to me than the bullshit the US does. Unless I was moving for the sheer fun of it, out of pure desire (as opposed to escape), I don’t see the point.

Do you have overdue library books? >> No, but I do have to renew my library card, argh.

What was the name of your favorite Barbie? >> ---

Did you give your Barbies individual names? >> I don’t remember if I named them.

Does your mom like your favorite color? >> ---

Which family member's birthday is closest to yours? >> ---

Which holiday is your bday closest to? >> Memorial Day. Sometimes it’s the same day, to my annoyance.

Is your favorite nail polish running low? >> ---

What is your favorite nail polish color? >> Black.

Do you use a sunlamp? >> No, they’re way too concentrated for me.

What is your favorite thing to do on your phone? >> Read. I use the shit out of the CloudLibrary app.

Which department store do you live closest to? >> Meijer and Target (they’re in the same shopping center).

Do you keep a diary? >> I keep a journal on Dreamwidth.

Which friend do you want back? >> ---

Have you ever contemplated going back to an ex because you're lonely? >> When I was younger, probably.

Does your back hurt right now at all? >> No.

What magazine would you like to subscribe to? >> I’m thinking about maybe trying out some [digital] subscriptions to like, New Yorker, or Harper’s, or some other digital publications. All of them have subscriptions now, after all, and it’s getting hard to go on my Longform.org binges when half the sites they aggregate from are restricted.

Do you think you would look good on the cover of a magazine? >> I have no idea how I would look on a cover of a magazine. Most of the “looking good” happens through the makeup and photo-editing, so idk, maybe.

Have you ever wished you were born in a different country? >> No.

Do you ever get praised for doing a good job? >> I mean, by Sparrow, I guess.

Do you wish you had someone on your side? >> I do have someone on my side.

Would you pretend you were suicidal because a nurse wanted you to? or because a youth leader wanted you to? or because a stranger wanted you to? >> What...??? I cannot imagine a single situation like this. Where they do this at?

Do your peers label you as depressed and reject you because of it? >> No?????

Who was the last person you met who wasn't toxic? >> I don’t think anyone I’ve met is toxic. Some people just have a lot of shit going on and that shit don’t play well with others. I’m not going to call them “toxic” because of that.

Do you feel like your life is just work, work, work, with no reward? >> No.

Do you ever get tired of the abuse and just want to quit? >> What abuse?

Do you wish there were penalties for abuse in your country? >> There... there are... (Now, whether someone is willing to follow the law or not -- or whether they’re held accountable by the law or not -- is a whole different story.)

Do you wish there were a refuge for the abused in your country? >> I’m not sure what kind of refuge you’re thinking of.

Do you wish you had a safe place you could go where people cared about you? >> I... I do... damn, survey-maker, you good???

Do you feel happy right now? >> Sure.

What color were the last pair of pajamas you wore? >> The last pj pants I wore were black.

Do you put sugar in your tea? >> No. Sometimes I’ll put some honey in, depending on what kind of tea it is, but other teas I just drink as-is.

What's one childhood dream that has stuck with you? >> ---

Does anyone encourage you to go after your dreams? >> I don’t have any dreams, man.

^Did that last statement bring pain with it? >> Nah, it sounds depressing but I actually just don’t operate that way. I’m more present-oriented than future-oriented.

What color was the last mug you drank out of? >> White on the outside and yellow on the inside. It has a cute cartoony cactus on it.

Do you feel hot today? >> I feel hot almost every day. I run like a furnace.

What was your favorite book you had to read for school? >> Their Eyes Were Watching God.

Are you exhausted? >> No.

How many tabletop Christmas trees do you have? >> Zero.

Do you think skydiving sounds fun? >> I sure do.

Who do you know who has been skydiving? >> I had a friend whose brother took the course and got a license for it, and I think I’ve met a couple other people who’ve done it.

Do you itch right now? >> No.

What is the ugliest animal known to man (in your opinion)? >> ---

Do you eat meat? >> Yeah.

Have you ever purchased a poinsettia? >> No.

Do you like poinsettias? >> They’re all right, but I’m not interested in them enough to purchase one. Also, they’re toxic to cats, so we can’t have any in the first place.

Would you want your bday to be on a holiday? >> Nah. I like my birthday to belong to me and me only. :3

#surveys #survey #random survey

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twinsimskeletons · 5 years

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meme thingy drunk edition

I was tagged by @notjustabooksims <3 enjoy this drunkard’s rambling!

Rules: Tag 20 followers you’d like to know better (20? nah gurl)

Nickname: I don’t really have a nickname. Carys isn’t exactly easy to shorten. My best friend from uni calls me Meowprize, based on my last name and a love for cats, and my bestie from high school occasionally calls me carrots or carts when writing because of autocorrect. She even got a book signed by a fave author, Joe Abercrombie, to carrots :’). I’ve always wanted a nickname but, yeah, no easy one for Carys. Where I live now a lot of people call me cerys because there’s a couple of them who are very well known in the small community. On a side note, they always apologise and acknowledge that they’re doing it. I just tell them I respond to any familiar sounding name like a dog lmao.

Gender: all gurl bb

Astrological sign: Pisces. I’m not a believer is astrology, because I’m a bitch for science. My mum claims she once did a personal study on it and found there was some correlation but she also is part of the OBOD (druids etc in the uk) and studies shamanism sooooo

Height: i have no idea, i haven’t measured myself in a while. like five foot four maybe. average but on the side of short, which confuses me. I’m a beanpole and taller than my mum and sis (who is four foot eleven hahahah) and I’ve always thought of myself as tall bc of that.

Sexuality: ace. people are pretty but sex ain’t my jam.

Hogwarts House: okay give me a second. according to buzzfeed i’m very slightly leaning towards ravenclaw, which from my weak understanding of hp fits. i like knowing things.

Favorite Animal: cats cats cats cats cats everybody (to the tune of the shots song. but also penguins, which i have a smol tattoo of).

Number of blankets: One on my bed. Only because it was a knitted xmas pressie from my mum and the older i get, the more i treasure gifts that people have made. on my sofa i have a blanket i stole from Australia my auntie let me keep after i visited her at eleven years old, a fleecy tiger blanket i think i was either given as a present or bought, and a small woollen blanket made by a community knitting/rural skills project from the office that my co-worker let me take home bc he didn’t know what else to do with them, haha.

Where I’m From: Born in England but I’ve lived in Scotland most my life. Depending on who I talk to, I either call myself british or scottish. (scotland is better in almost every aspect if not for the damn snp). *insert pic of theresa may crying upon resignation* (sidenote... can i come live with you louise, the uk really is imploding and i’ve always wanted to visit denmark).

side note: tories do have feelings? damn

Dream Trip: I would LOVE to go to America again and visit some of my dearest friends I know via sims stories on LJ many years ago. Alas after forking out as much as I did for my car, europe may be the next ‘abroad’ holiday. But I’m hoping to visit one grandmother in june, and I would LOVE to visit a second set of grandparents this year, because my grandfather is quite old and I really want to interview him before he passes. He has some crazy stories - consulate in berlin during the cold war, unofficial ambassador for Guatemala and survived an assassination attempt while there (bodyguard not so lucky...), had a period as an ambassador for an island (i’m so sorry, i can’t remember the name) and organised the first royal visit in so many years etc (who would have thought little old me would have been related to some much history lmao, though honestly who cares about the royals these days). I’m v close to the first grandmother and fairly close to this set, and /if/ i do ever have kids (or adopt more likely) then I’d love for them to know their characters and voices/stories.

When I created this account: April 2015. I had a simblr before, under Tyrfish (a nickname for a cat, long story, and also my online name on LJ) but I stopped. I actually can’t remember why now, but I was still on LJ at that time. Then LJ was dying, I was at uni, and decided to make a new tumblr. I’m fairly sure @romeo-and-simulet was part of my reason for trying again. Temptress... ;)

This is the cat Tyr, nicknamed tyrfish. When she was a kitten (with two eyes) my sister and i (plus an ex friend) used to pretend she and another kitten Loki were ‘fish’ that we, as sharks or fishermen, were trying to catch. I’ve never claimed not to be a weirdo.

Why I created this account: Because LJ was dying and I wanted to keep writing SOL, damn it. I created this tumblr and quickly came up with the idea of rewriting it... why... how... idk.

I have no recollection of who has done this and who is already tagged... but @romeo-and-simulet @ninjaofthepurplethings @arenderedpixel @ktarsims @acquiresimoleons

#nonsims #saviorhide #meme thingy #honestly if the uk elects bojo im out #what is this country becoming srsly #we cant even make fun of the us anymore i mean come n #on*

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imaginexmeintheuniverse · 5 years

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An X Co. Xmas

12 Days of Christmas OTP Challenge

Day 1: Character A and Character B, sworn enemies, are chosen to prepare the company Christmas Party.

A/N: well this is starting off great im already late on the first day, but i was getting wrecked by uni and wanted to do some research first so please correct me if i made any mistakes concerning Hanukkah! This is actually so long but I had a lot of fun writing it <3 Also i recently started binge watching the office and i just finished my finals which incidentally was for management so here goes!

❄ ❊ ❄ ❊ ❄ ❊

i. an infuriating announcement

"You're shitting me, Ro," you deadpan, already feeling like giving up. "Can't someone else do it? Anyone?!"

"Sorry, the rest of the team already have their assignments for the month, and this is yours— and Peter's."

Being in charge of the big X Company Christmas party is an event you've wanted to take the lead on since you joined this department, but being paired up with none other than Peter Maximoff, makes this the best opportunity and the worst case scenario.

"But he's an idiotic man-child!" You're not even sure how he made his way up to being part of this project management team. You assume it must have something to do with his father being co-chairman of the company. "Yesterday he ordered fifteen pizzas under my name!"

"To be fair, you did glue all his pens and pencils together last week," she smirks, and lets out a small laugh at the memory. "In any case, the project groups for this month have been divided by aptitudes and experience like they always are, and you two ended up together because everyone else was matched up with other projects. I know you two don't exactly get along the best, but upper management is on my ass and the rest of the team is already totally booked with the hectic holiday season."

"Is there anything you can do?"

"Sorry, babe," she apologizes, and give you a sympathetic lopsided smile.

"What's the use of being best friends with the boss if I can't get sorted with a better partner," you grumble with a playful smile, because you obviously love Ororo, but you're not sure how long you'll last without wanting to do something that might land you in HR.

"If it's any consolation, he's not thrilled about being your partner either."

❄ ❄ ❄

ii. an idiotic man-child

"This obviously isn't working out—"

"We can't agree on anything—"

"You two are supposed to be coordinating this event together—" Ororo ducks her head between her hands and exhales out of exasperation as she rubs her temples.

"She locked me in the conference room!"

"He put all my office supplies in Jell-O!"

"You need to stop bickering like children and get your shit together!" She stands from her desk, chiding you and Peter. You both sit in adjacent chairs in front of her and you feel like you're back and school and have landed yourself in the principal's office. "I can't be babysitting you constantly, so you'll just have to pull it together and figure it out before you get kicked off this team!"

You and Peter nod in unison, and then exchange side glares at each other when Ororo is sitting back down. She is an amazing manager, and to be fair you and Peter had spent the last thirty minutes complaining about one another, so it's understandable that her patience is running thin.

She takes a moment to collect herself, smoothing out her skirt and tucking a loose strand of hair back into her tight bun. "As I've told you before, it's too late to add or exchange team members with their assignments this month, but I can give you the intern to help you out."

"Kurt?"

"Yes, I've already sent him a memo and he'll be back in the bullpen waiting for you." With that, she dismisses you, and you walk out of her office with Peter following right behind you.

"I hope you don't plan on nagging the intern to death, wouldn't want to scare the poor kid away," he taunts you, catching up to your quicker walking pace to beside you.

"I hope you can actually do your job for once, so that he won't have to do it for you," you retort, without even glancing his way.

"Chill, princess—"

"We don't all have a boss for a father who will help us float to the top— I had to work my ass off to get here and I'm not going to let you drag me down!" You're fuming, and judging by the slight falter in his usual smirk, you think you might have gone too far.

He doesn't say anything for a moment, and then you see Kurt smiling and waving at both of you from across the room. You offer him an awkward smile and Peter gives him a weak wave, both of you dampened from your exchange.

There's no point in wasting any more time with the fast-approaching deadline, so you turn to him, totally neutral and say, "We have work to do, let's just delegate tasks and check up on each other later."

❄ ❄ ❄

iii. an unmethodical arrangement

"Damn it!" Peter shouts from his desk, and you look up at him from your computer, distracted by his sudden outburst. He slams the phone back into place in hanging up, and you raise an eyebrow at him. "That's the third band to cancel," he says, exhaling slowly to calm himself down.

He was in charge of music, and as the project deadline approaches with the holidays, it's getting harder to lock down on services. Even you're having a hard time trying to find a restaurant that's available to cater. You decide to give your tired eyes a rest by closing your monitor and leaning back in your chair, blinking a few times to adjust to more favourable lighting.

You're both exhausted from running around all day, and you already sent the intern home a few hours ago. Furthermore, watching the sun set so early through the widow walls, and always having to work so many hours after dark has been getting really depressing. Despite it being demanding and requiring crazy hours, you do love this job.

"Tell me about it, all the restaurants are long overbooked."

There's a moment where all you hear is the clicking of Peter's fingers gliding over the keyboard and then he speaks up, "My mom is friends with this restaurant owner who owes her a favour." He turns his monitor to show you a simplistic webpage. "It's a small family business, they're not going to be booked because they don't advertise their catering service, and they have a menu that can suit all kinds of food restrictions."

"That's great!" you exclaim, taking note of the restaurant name. "Okay, now we just need to find the music." You let out a low sigh, and pull out your planning binder to hopefully gain some inspiration or answers. This fails you, as you end up merely staring blankly at the flipping pages— that is until you fall on one in particular that could help you out. "Hey Peter," you call out to him, and he stops spinning to face you. "What about Warren?"

"What about Warren?" He asks, curious as to why you're bringing up your old teammate. You worked on a lot of projects with Warren before he got promoted to higher management last year.

"He has a bunch of connections, and he hired this great DJ for one of the big fundraisers last year. Why don't we ask him?"

"That's actually not a bad idea, I'll email him." Peter smiles, scribbling on a sticky note and posting it on his computer screen. "But I'll take care of that tomorrow morning," he thinks out loud. "Can we meet earlier tomorrow morning?"

Glancing at the clock, you wonder why the hell he would want to meet earlier since you two have been working so late. "Why?"

"Hanukkah starts tomorrow," he answers simply. "It's already been approved by management, but we are partners so I just wanna make sure you're cool with it."

"Yeah, that's fine," you reply, giving him a small smile. Honestly, this is the longest you two have gone without bickering, but it actually feels nice to be getting along with him.

"All right, I'm gonna call it quits for tonight," he says, gathering his bag and coat. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, Y/N."

"Have a good night."

❄ ❄ ❄

iv. an evening before

Everything since those little speed bumps you hit concerning the music and food has run really smoothly, and you and Peter have been getting along a lot better since that late night in the office. You developed a steady work flow and actually found yourself laughing at some of his lame jokes. Peter was surprised when he realized that he no longer subconsciously rolled his eyes every time you opened your mouth, and he'd feel himself light up when you greeted him in the morning.

"I think everything should be fine," Peter announces, as you check off the items on the task list.

"All the services are on schedule, and the design department is putting the final touches in the hall," Kurt reports, tucking a few stray papers back into his planner.

"All right, then you may be dismissed, we'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning to greet the caterers and waiting staff." Kurt nods, and bids you and Peter a good evening before heading off into the gentle snowfall of NYC. "We finished with an hour to spare," You smile at Peter who loosens his tie as you both gather your things and head out of the building together. "It'll give me extra time to try not to stress out about tomorrow."

Peter chuckles, and nods in agreement to your statement. "I'll be able to go surprise my sister and pick her up from school."

"You have a sister?"

"Yeah, my little sister, Wanda, she's in middle school and hates the school bus."

"I totally understand, the bus is another kind of hell."

He opens his mouth to say goodbye, but then you remember that you had something for him, and you reach into your bag to pull out a present tied up in a pretty satin bow. "Before you go, I have something for you," you say shyly, not sure why you feel a heat creeping up to your cheeks when you notice how charming Peter looks with snowflakes resting delicately on his dark eyelashes.

"What's this for?" He asks, curious about the neatly wrapped box you place in his hands.

"Today is the last day of Hanukkah isn't it?"

"Yeah," he confirms, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

He tears the wrapping off, opens the box, and pulls out the dreidel you put inside. "I'm sorry, it's kind of lame— you probably have a ton of them."

"No, this is really great," he says with a smile, turning the top in his hands to admire the craftsmanship. You happened to walk past a kiosk with handmade dreidels when you had to take a different way home the previous night, and couldn't help but notice how pretty they were. "Thank you, Y/N."

A few seconds pass by awkwardly where you're both smiling, but aren't sure what to do, until Peter leans forward and wraps his arms around you, pulling you into a hug. The foreign affection from him is completely new, but surprisingly warm, comfortable, and welcome. You've just let yourself melt into the hug when he breaks off, and it's like you've been snapped out of a daze and left out in the cold. Still feeling slightly disoriented, you wish him a happy Hanukkah, and leave it at that before you make a fool of yourself. You start to head off towards the subway when Peter calls out to you.

"Do you—" He hesitates for a moment, unsure of what he's asking exactly.

"Did you say something?" You turn back around to face him and he stutters for a moment, because the sun shining perfectly on your features with snow falling all around you has him unable to process anything else around him. "Peter?"

"D-Do you want to come? I figure it's better than trying not to stress out at home alone."

Your lips curve up into a smile and you're not even conscious of how much your heart rate has picked up yet. Everything is sorted for the company party tomorrow, and you've discovered that Peter isn't too bad to be around, so what's the harm?

"Sure."

❄ ❄ ❄

v. an important night

"Wow—" Peter utters breathlessly, stunned by the sight of you entering the hall. Last time he saw you was less than a half hour ago, and he'd be lying if he were to say that he weren't impressed by your quick transformation. Just moments ago you were running around in your work clothes, with a clipboard and unruly hairs sticking out in all wrong places. Now that the party's started and everything is running smoothly, you seem a lot more calm and managed to fix up your hair and makeup flawlessly. He hadn't seen your dress yet, and even though he thought you were still the prettiest person in the room in your stressed out mess, you're definitely a showstopper now.

"You should wipe the drool off your chin before Y/N notices," Scott smirks at Peter as he walks up to him with Jean on his arm. As if on cue, you notice Peter and your other team members from across the room and wave at the group, a smile gracing your lips that makes Peter weak in the knees. Scott, of course, notices this and feels the need to tease him about it. "If I didn't know how much you two hate each other's guts, I'd think you might actually like each other as more than just archenemies."

"Scott, leave the poor guy alone," Jean chimes in, grinning playfully. "He obviously has it bad."

"You guys don't know what you're talking about." Peter runs a hand through his silver hair that's neatly coiffed for once. "Y/N and I are just partners on this event, and then everything is going to go back to normal," He laughs it off, despite what he just said settling uncomfortably in his mind. Working with you over the last few weeks has brought out the best in both of you; you've been getting along great, even having a couple of inside jokes, and last night he had so much fun. The way your eyes would light up with genuine interest as you listened to his explanations of the rituals, how well you seemed to fit in with his family, and Wanda, she adored you. He found himself frequently gazing at you with a goofy grin on his face, not even realizing he was staring until you'd make eye contact with him, and then he'd get all flustered from being caught.

All this to say that he's very confused about his feelings. He likes the relationship akin to friendship the two of you have developed, but he also feels something more. The thought that makes him more uncomfortable is: what will happen when this is over? Will you just be disbanded and assigned to different projects after? Will you go back to being at each other's throats, will you still be friendly with each other, or will you just never speak again unless you're assigned to the same project again?

"Peter, you need to calm down." Jean interrupts his overthinking, offering him a comforting smile. "Go ask her to dance."

"It's like you read my mind," He shoots her a wink and finishes off his drink before heading off in your direction.

"Hey Peter," You greet him after excusing yourself from a group conversation. "This is going great isn't it?"

"Y-Yeah, it's awesome."

"Who would've known we'd make a half-decent team?" You grin at him playfully, and also notice that he seems a little spaced out. "Are you okay, Maximoff?"

"Do y-you wanna dance?"

"It would be my pleasure," You extend your hand, and he takes it in his larger one, leading you to the dance floor where he slips his other arm around your waist. He starts to guide you is slow circles, feet following the rhythm of the smooth tune. Throughout the course of the song, your bodies get closer to one another, and you hope he can't tell how warm your cheeks are upon realizing this. "Wow, Peter, where'd you learn to dance like this?"

"My, uh, mom made me take lessons when I was younger," he says sheepishly, a blush creeping its way onto his face.

"I'm impressed."

The song ends, and you thank each other for the dance. This is the when you'd normally break apart, but neither of you moves— neither of you wants to. The next song starts to play and you're the only ones not moving on the dance floor.

"You look amazing, by the way," he tells you, and you feel like you're lungs are failing you.

"Thanks, you clean up real nice yourself." Another few seconds go by without anything happening, other than the tension continuously building.

"Well- th-thanks for the dance, a-and being a good partner."

Peter mentally slaps himself as you smile and start to walk off the dance floor. There's obviously something there, why didn't he do anything? Idiot. Just when he thinks he's blown his only chance, you spin on your heel and march back to the spot he hasn't moved from, pull him down by the shoulders to press your lips against his. He barely has time to process what's happening before you pull back, leaving him reeling.

"Whoa," is all he can manage to get out. It was only a few seconds, but your kiss took all the air out of his lungs.

"May I have this dance?" You ask nervously, taking a shot at the dark, hoping he feels the same way you do.

He doesn't say anything else, unable to keep the goofy grin off his face. Instead of speaking, he wraps an arm around your waist, pulling you flush against his body and leans in for another kiss. His soft lips move against yours gently, and as you let your eyes flutter shut, you feel that same warmth as when he first hugged you the previous night.

When you break apart, neither of you can keep the smiles off your face, and you happily let him lead you in circles on the dance floor.

❄ ❄ ❄

vi. an extra scene

Peter hugs you from behind and presses a quick kiss to your cheek before heading to his desk.

"Congrats you two!" You and Peter both jump at Ororo's less-than-subtle entrance. "The party was a hit, and upper management wants to add you to the New Year fundraiser event planning team!"

You both thank her for the opportunity and accept the detail files she hands you.

"Oh, and congrats for the other thing too," She says, gesturing between you and Peter. "You know what that means, right?"

"We get a raise for organizing the party of the year?" Peter half-jokingly suggests.

"Real funny," she chuckles, making her way to her office. "You're going to have to file this with HR, now."

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dxmichelle · 5 years

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Nerdship Bonus Extra Ending to the Xmas Ball

So the other day I posted the alternate ending to OLSSM Chapter 28 (the Christmas ball), only as part of the Nerdship AU.

Here’s an extended ending.

Bzzzz. Bzzzz. Bzzzz.

The faint buzz stopped, and then started back up again, rousing Hermione from her sleep. She slowly forced her eyes open, trying to clear the fog from her vision, and the sudden breeze caused her to shiver.

It took her a moment to realize that she wasn’t back in her room in Gryffindor Tower – she was on the Astronomy Tower…on a chaise that was ridiculously out of place along the tower balcony. …And that she had been using Seto’s chest for a pillow.

Hermione quickly pulled away from him, red-faced, dislodging the blanket that was still radiating heat. His suit coat was still draped over her shoulders like a cape, and he was still completely out, his head resting along the backrest corner of the lounger. Unlike Yugi’s accounts of how little sleep Seto got on a regular basis (from either overworking, or an attack from the Shadow – or both), he looked to be peacefully slumbering, with the small handheld telescope resting loosely in his hand.

Bzzzz. Bzzzz. Bzzzz…

The noise came from his vest pocket, but she didn’t dare reach for it. Instead she gave his shoulder a gentle nudge, feeling incredibly guilty to have to wake him up. But it had to have been at least a few hours after they made it up here, for even with his coat and the warm blanket, it was still cold. The temperature must have dropped.

Seto blinked his eyes open almost instantly.

“Sorry,” he said, straightening up in his seat, “What were we looking for?”

Hermione giggled and drew her end of the blanket a little tighter. “I don’t remember,” she said, yawing, “I think we both dozed off. And your phone…”

He had already pulled it from his pocket, and frowned at the time displayed on the screen before turning off the alarm. “Dozed off is an understatement,” he said. “That was more or less a nap. It’s time to head back before Umbridge sends out the search parties.”

Hermione slid off the couch, a moment shaky in her heels and straightened out the wrinkles in her dress. She had been all tucked up for so long that her limbs were stiff.

It had only taken a few minutes to reset the Astronomy Tower to its original appearance. The couch vanished, and the handheld telescope transfigured itself back into its normal form along the edge of the parapet.

The Grand Staircases were mostly empty, save for a few stragglers heading back to the dormitories. The Great Hall would soon be closing, signaling the end of the ball, and Hermione expected most of the school were already back in bed, getting in the last hours of sleep before making the journey back to the Hogwarts Express in the morning.

“Are you excited?” she asked as the set of steps they currently stood on detached from the wall and floated its way up to the seventh floor landing. “To be finally going home for more than just work, I mean.”

Seto nodded. “I am. Mokuba will be home from school, but Kaiba Corp will only be closed for half of the time. It will be nice to get some work done from the comfort of my office, and not the common room or some offbeat classroom. I’m surprised no one found a magical solution for how drafty this place is. Wizards adapted to Muggle plumbing, but couldn’t insulate the windows?”

Hermione chuckled. “It’s just one of those things, I guess. Well, I for one am excited to travel someplace new on holiday. Yugi and Ryou have spoken so much about Domino City and their friends. I can’t wait to see it for myself.”

“Hm,” Seto mused as they made it to the landing and started down the corridor. “Just remember we’re not taking Portkeys or whatever ridiculous wizard travel you people have. I have a jet waiting in London, so it’s going to be a long flight back to Japan.”

“I know,” she said, “I’ve got books packed for the journey.”

Hermione stopped in front of the Fat Lady’s portrait. “Baubles.”

The Fat Lady huffed and yawned obnoxiously loud. “You lot are still out of bed?”

Seto rolled his eyes. “Technically the party is still going on, so we’re not late.”

The Fat Lady scowled. “I was trying to sleep!”

“You can sleep for two weeks while we’re all gone,” Seto snapped. “Baubles.”

“Humph!,” the Fat Lady bristled. “But you two better be the last ones!”

She swung the portrait open, and Seto started to go inside, but he stopped, surprised, as Hermione reached out and grabbed hold of his hand. He looked down at her hand, and then up at her, and found her cheeks reddened again.

“Before we go back inside…” she said, “I…I just want to say thanks, for everything tonight.”

Seto raised an eyebrow.

“You didn’t have to leave the tower,” she continued, “I know you didn’t want to go…but…I’m really glad you did, and saved me from Cormac.”

Seto shook his head. “You were the one who bruised his jaw. That was all you.”

“Not just that, but for everything after,” she said, blushing further, and stepped up closer to him, heart pounding.

He shrugged, but before he could say anything, she pressed down on his shoulders, and kissed him. His eyes widened as she suddenly pulled away, looking a cross between startled and scared.

“I…” she stammered. Did she go too far? Great – a friendship instantly ruined by her next bad decision this night. Would he instantly label her a fangirl like all the others and find sneakier places to hide around that even she wouldn’t find? “I-I’m sorry.”

“Oh, don’t be,” said a voice from the other side of the portrait hole, and they both quickly turned to see Ginny leaning on the side of the wall at the end of pass-between from the corridor outside and the inside common room wall. “But if you don’t kiss her back, I’ll be extremely disappointed.”

Hermione, not wanting to hold onto Seto while still blushing furiously, tugged his coat further around her shoulders and hugged her arms to her chest. “What?”

Ginny grinned slyly, and pointed upwards with her wand to the bit of mistletoe that definitely wasn’t there three seconds ago.

Seto looked up and glared at her. “Really?”

“Now look here,” said Ginny fiercely, “I had to watch my brother suck face with Lavender Brown all night. I’m not going to ever get that flushed from my mind for the rest of my life, but at least you two are cute together.” She pushed herself off the wall and crossed her arms in mock intimidation. “And also I’m blocking the way in.”

Hermione cringed, “I think I’ve seen enough mistletoe for one evening.”

“Yeah, but I’m not McLaggen,” said Seto, glancing back up at the mistletoe. And without warning, he cupped her chin with his hand and kissed her back. She froze, startled, but then wrapped a hand around the back of his neck, and the other rested again on his shoulder, keeping him from straightening back up as he pulled her closer.

“Are you going inside or not?” screamed the Fat Lady.

“Oh shut it,” Ginny snapped.

Hermione pulled back, noting that her cheeks weren’t the only ones red now. “So…um…”

Seto raised an eyebrow.

“Does…does this change anything?”

“Should it?” Seto said, and led her past Ginny and into the common room. It was mercifully empty. “It was mistletoe at Christmas. That’s tradition.”

“Well, that, yes, but I-I don’t know,” Hermione said. “I…don’t want to make things awkward…”

Ginny snorted. “Even more awkward than they already are?”

Both Seto and Hermione turned to her.

Ginny held up her hands and moved towards the girls’ staircase. “Okay, okay. I’m leaving. But seriously, Hermione, next time you have to find a date for something – don’t pick the biggest idiot around.”

Once alone, in the warmth of the common room, Hermione handed his jacket back. “Thank you again, really. I had a lovely time.”

Seto gave a single nod.

“I hope…I don’t run into Cormac at breakfast…or on the train,” she cringed. “Tomorrow’s going to be awkward, isn’t it?”

“Probably. But if he has half a brain in his head, he’ll have learned something and will keep his distance. And if not, you can always make good on your threat to hex him.”

Hermione sighed. “That’s not necessarily ideal.”

“Alright, fine. But I have little tolerance for bullies.”

“Don’t get into trouble before we’ve even left,” said Hermione. “You know Umbridge will look for any opportunity to take away someone’s happiness around here.” She paused. “And please don’t go picking a fight with him. He’s twice your size.”

It didn’t much matter how big he was, Seto thought. Kemo was roughly a bit larger than McLaggen, and he didn’t have any problem taking that oaf down on Pegasus’s island. Seto gave a half-hearted shrug and paused at the bottom step of the boys’ staircase.

“I’ll be heading to the train early to find an empty booth to hide,” he said, “I want to catch up with Mokuba and make some calls before it gets too late in Domino. If you need a place to hide out for a while….”

Hermione nodded. “I might take you up on it.”

“Good,” Seto said, the words flowing from his mouth before he could even realize what he was saying. “I wouldn’t have offered otherwise.”

Hermione felt her cheeks redden again and turned back to head upstairs. “I’ll see you at breakfast tomorrow?”

“Mhm.”

“Alright. Good night, Seto.” She continued up to the sixth years’ room, and got ready for bed, her heart lighter. Parvati was already in bed, and Lavender was still gone, but Hermione didn’t care. She felt happier now than she had all week – possibly all month. Tomorrow she would be leaving for a new adventure, and she let her excitement carry her to sleep.

#michelle writes fic #nerdshipping #seto kaiba #hermione granger #crossover au #yugioh #hp #olssm

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marvuelousmrmaisel-blog · 5 years

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Eyes, Lies and Misleading Mirrors

So, yes this is my first blog post and yes this may be a very heavy (no pun intended) place to start, but here we are its 2:22 in the morning and I have something I want to get off my chest.

My weight has always played a big part in my life, I have never really been comfortable with the size I am but like so many of us I tended to be placed in the “fat, funny friend” category, now I am hilarious so I didn’t really mind this but it did nothing to make me try and do anything about my size and the issues it was causing me both physically and mentally. Now I could go on to blame my genetics and say I was cursed to be this way but if I really take a step back and take a long hard look at myself (something which has been somewhat a theme of this year for me) I know that I have let food play way too big of a role in my life. Well this year was the year I decided to do something about it and in the process have lost the better part of two stone and am physically the healthiest I have been in years (if not ever) which while having plenty of positives has had one fairly big negative I was not at all prepared for.

But before we get into that, a little back story, not too much though I promise. From a young age I have had a very direct relationship between emotions and food; something good happens celebrate with a meal out, feeling ill here is some food to make you feel better, upset: cake, angry: cake, birthday: cake, (what can I say cake is versatile). It is safe to say that during hard or stressful times in my adult life I tended to turn to food to make me feel better, I always have and I think deep down I will always want to. Now I know it will sound cheesy but up until about the age of 15/16 I really didn’t care what I looked like (i was that kid), but since then I became aware I was not “conventionally attractive” something which I now know is not only non-existent but dangerous to aim for. I tried dieting and going to the gym and could lose the weight easily enough but never seemed to keep it off, which only added to the fairly crap mental state I was in at the time. This carried on until the Christmas of my second year of university; lose weight feel bad put it back on feel bad about putting it back on lose it (you know the rest).

Now we fast forward to xmas 2018, see I told you there wouldn’t be much back story. I always spend xmas with my family at the house I grew up in which ids always amazing, but it is also in these times surrounded by my old books and bed and clothes I tend to take a look at myself and the person I am. In my room I have a wardrobe door with a mirror on it and during this particular holiday I stood looking at myself and my belly and my double chin and decided that something needed to change. This has always been easier at university because I am cooking for myself and as much as I love my dad he definitely enjoys making sure I am well fed. So as soon as I got back I started dieting, going to the gym more as well as other just general health and lifestyle improvements and honestly it worked a treat. It is now almost four months later; I ams 10kg lighter than I was, I can walk up stairs without being out of breathe, I can run a 5k in 20 minutes and have finally started tackling my mental health. But I still found my self tonight looking in that same mirror at someone who is obviously so much slimmer but not only that, healthier still hating how I look and thinking my stomach is huge.

But why?! Surely that’s not fair! I have put all that effort in, surely I should love how I look now! Unfortunately sometimes it is not that easy.

“Body dysmorphic disorder is a mental disorder in which you can't stop thinking about one or more perceived defects or flaws in your appearance — a flaw that, to others, is either minor or not observable. But you may feel so ashamed and anxious that you may avoid many social situations.” (mayoclinic.org)

Now I do not suppose to be a psychiatrist and I also do not mean to say that I have BDD but I think it works if as nothing more than a great descriptor for the way a lot of people feel about themselves. Personally (as I said earlier) I have never liked the way I looked, in photographs or mirrors or anything really. But all that actually means is that I don’t like the way I see myself (a very important distinction) and that can can be due to all sorts of factors like what mood I’m in or even the temperature or surroundings. A good example of this is the mirror in my flat, it is amazing because it makes you look great (like the best version of you), honestly if I could replace all mirrors on earth with this mirror I guarantee it would be a better place. But this does mean when I look at myself in other mirrors I see someone who is so much healthier (and thinner) than I was before but I don’t feel it because this mirror only make me feel good about myself and not great. No more than ever with social media as prominent as it is we end up comparing everyones highlight reels to our behind the scenes (I can’t take credit for that saw it on facebook or something but it seemed to fit), and we all need to know that happiness in yourself is more important that conforming to the way you “should look”.

So what am I trying to say, where am I going with all of this?

The thing I have come to realise at what is now 3:24 and wanted to get off my chest is that the reason I could never keep the weight off is because I was aiming for some unattainable end point, when really it is about living a life that makes you happy. Right now I am the healthiest I can remember ever feeling, I have great friends and family, university (the most stressful time of my life) is almost over, I love my life, and even though sometimes I don’t like how I look in a mirror it helps to remember that your eyes can lie and mirrors can mislead but how you feel inside…thats all you, you control that.

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k-i-s-m-e-t · 6 years

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Skate Date

TianShan Xmas Event: Ice-Skating (Day 3) Fandom: 19 days Rating: Mature Status: Complete Warnings: None Pairing: TianShan Words: 1,932

Summary: To Mo’s surprise He Tian is not good at everything.

A date. That’s what He Tian had called it. The offer had been presented in passing, as if he’d just asked if Mo did last night’s math assignment. No way he’d heard correctly, not over the chattering of the busy hallway, other students hurrying to class. However when the question was repeated he felt his throat dry up, mind working frantically, reaching for some smart reply. “What nonsense are you talking now?” He busied himself at his locker shuffling stray papers, stacking his books. He refused to turn and face He Tian because he knew his composure would fail. It always did, evident in the flush of his cheeks, the press of his eyebrows, twist of his lips.

It meant facing those feelings that made his stomach drop, his heart flutter, feelings he stamped down and tried unsuccessfully to ignore. He Tian pushed his locker door closed so they were face to face, crowded him against it. “I said, let’s go ice-skating this weekend.” “Why?” “It doesn’t need to be that complicated Guan Shan, it’s either yes or no.” Complicated tended to work in his favor so he hadn’t answered, didn’t have a chance to. The bell had rung like a saving grace giving him an excuse to slip off to class, bide his time. By that afternoon he’d forgotten the matter entirely. Yet Saturday had easily come around, announcing itself with a soft rapping at his bedroom door. “What?” he’d called irritated, pressing his cheek further into the pillowcase, body burrowing deeper into the warm cavern of his sheets. He’d left his balcony door open last night and the cold that drifted in settled over him in waves. An answer still hadn’t come and Mo could feel himself drifting, if it was important he was sure his mom would have let herself in. Shifting to his side he let himself slip back into the gentle confines of sleep.

Around noon, hunger forced him to brace the cold path to the kitchen, rubbing at the sleep gathered in the corners of his eyes.

He grunted in response to his Mother too drowsy to comprehend, yanking open the fridge to scan its contents. Retrieving some juice from the top shelf he uncapped it and took a long drink directly from the cartoon. Something in his peripheral caught his eye and he turned, curious, only to spit the mouthful of juice, spraying his immediate area. “Guan Shan,” his mother said sharply, shaking her head before tossing him a kitchen towel. He caught it loosely, had to grab at it twice, still coughing up the liquid lodged in his windpipe. Bracing himself on the counter he pointed, convinced it was too early to be trusting his own eyesight. “What is he doing here?” he gestured wildly at their kitchen table where He Tian sat. “He’s been waiting for you,” she said moving to clear He Tian’s plate from the table. “I’ve got it,” He Tian insisted, rising and carrying the plate to the sink to wash. Smug smile on his face. Guan Shan watched him in disbelief, before crossing his arms in annoyance. ‘Look at this bastard strutting through his house like he owned the place, touching their sponge, using their dish soap!’ He mentally racked up the offenses. “I’m surprised you even know how to wash dishes, I always have to do it at your house.” Mo seethed. “I’ve learned a thing or two from observation,” he winked. Mo clenched his fists, talking himself off the ledge. His mom was here, He Tian had a good reputation, be cool. He whispered it harshly as He Tian and his mom laughed at a joke. “You never answered my question,” Mo interrupted “What are you doing here?” He Tian pressed a hand to his chest in mock offense. “You wound me Mo, you can’t have forgotten that we agreed to go ice-skating today, remember?” “No, we didn’t,” Mo said through his teeth, bending to mop up the spilt juice. Fuck he’d forgotten that conversation. “We didn’t agree to do anything. I never said yes.” “So, you do remember then.” “So, what?” “So, let’s go.” “I’m not going anywhere with you!” “Yes, you are,” his Mom cut in. “You didn’t just have him wait here for two hours so you can change your mind.” “Two hours!? What have you been doing for two hours? Why didn’t you wake me up?!” “I tried but you didn’t answer, then we got caught up looking at your baby pictures…” “I’m surprised you weren’t actually born with that scowl on your face.” He Tian chuckled. “Mom whyyyy?” Mo moaned. “Because you were adorable and I like to show off what I made.” “Please stop,” he dragged a hand down his heat flushed face.

The tips of his ears were still aflame when the reach the skating rink but they cooled instantly as they enter the building. The rink thankfully wasn’t too crowded when they arrived, less chances of someone from school seeing them. Though in all honestly given his close proximity to He Tian lately even if someone saw it’d be nothing new. He Tian hanging off his shoulder had become a common scene throughout the day at school. He was painstakingly difficult to shake, seemed to cling tighter around Mo the more he struggled. With these cold weather months, he would admit the extra body heat was nice and He Tian tended to be warm like a furnace. They stowed their trainers in a shared locker and changed into their skates. Mo ignored He Tian’s emphasis of “Our locker.” Out on the ice Mo is a natural. He has skated this rink multiple times, usually with his mother. First being guided as a kid, later supporting her as she grabbed onto him for stability when he set a fast pace. They were memories he was fond of and put him at ease, a nice reprieve.

“What are you smiling about?” He Tian teased when Mo had lapped the rink back to their starting point “Thinking about me?” Mo looked at him blankly, wondering why he hadn’t gotten out on the ice yet, just lingered in the entranceway. “What’s with you? You’re the one that wanted to come here to begin with.” He Tian shuffled awkwardly, gripping the rinks wall tightly as his feet slid back and forth trying to find his balance. “I haven’t done this in awhile,” he admitted. “So, you’re telling me you invited me out here but you can’t event skate,” Mo scoffed. He Tian shrugged, pushed off the wall, over calculated momentum making him bend back at the waist then snap forward, overcompensating. “Shit!” Mo said, instinct overtaking him, diving forward, tucking an arm under He Tian’s, wrapping it around his back to steady him. A tense moment passed where it seemed like they’d both fall before Mo rights them. “Be careful!” Mo panted, wiping at the sweat beading at his brow in spite of the cold. “Are you saying,” He Tian stumbled, snatching at Mo for purchase “you care about me?” He grinned up at him, a hand wrapped tight in his jacket, dragging out the ‘me’. Mo contemplated dropping him but they’d signed a safety waiver before being allowed access to the rink. The minute shifting of their bodies carried them toward the center of the rink, stuck in a continuous revolution as He Tian still struggled to gain his footing. Mo used the side of his blade, nicking into the ice to bring them to a halt, breath heavy with exertion. “Look,” Mo said formulating a plan, we have to get you off to the side or you’re gonna make both of us fall. “No I’m not,” words barely off his lips before he slid heavily to his knees, legs splayed beneath him. Mo prays for strength. With some sketchy maneuvering he was able to get He Tian back on his feet to attempt a beeline towards the nearest wall. It’s not just the distance itself that has to be considered but maneuvering around oncoming patrons.

Taking a deep breath he addressed He Tian, refusing to make eye contact.

“Put your hands on my waist,” he instructed.

He Tian looked taken aback. “What?”

“If we’re going to get both of us ‘safely’ to that wall” he pointed, “I need you to listen to me.”

“Okay.”

As they adjusted position, Mo couldn’t ignore the lingering touches of He Tian’s hands as they moved down his shoulder to his waist, which of course he gripped beneath Mo’s coat. They lit up his skin even through his sweater.

“You fit perfectly in my hands,” He Tian mused in his ear.

Mo couldn’t answer if he wanted to. He felt a flush creeping up the back of his neck that He Tian confirms.

“Are you warm?” He Tian whispered, breath tickling his ear “Even though it’s so cold in here?”

Mo shivered.

He shook his head trying to focus. “You ready?” he called over his shoulder.

“Ready.”

Mo dug in a skate and pushed off lightly, easing them into the movement. It took a second for He Tian’s body to catch up, delayed momentum docking him against the curve of Mo’s ass. That in itself was incentive enough to get Mo moving, embarrassed at how well they fit. He tried to keep his brain from considering other angles in which that position worked. He pushed off again, a smoother transition as he shifted his weight to his other foot, now easily towing the other boy behind him. He could imagine how ridiculous they looked, and if He Tian wasn’t so clearly awful at skating he’d think it had been a set up. They slowed to dodge a patron zipping by then aimed for an opening in the rink to step off the ice.

Everything ran smoothly until they reached the opening. Mo stepped easily over the lip of the rink, but He Tian collided with it unaware.

A sharp intake of breath behind him was the only warning he got before time slowed. A moment in which everything seemed magnified, but he could do nothing to stop it.

He Tian crashed headlong into him, hands grabbing wildly to avoid the inevitable. They grappled for a bit, Mo trying to support both their weights, but he went down and it would’ve been comical, if his hands weren’t full of Mo’s jacket.

He Tian hit first, yanking Mo down on top of him, legs tangled.

When Mo opened his eyes they were a hair’s breadth apart. He immediately propped himself up on his elbows to put distance between them, but an arm curled around his waist anchoring him in place.

“I knew I could get you to fall for me,” He Tan said, looking winded but otherwise okay.

“Did you hit your head on that fall, you nutcase, let go!”

“Why? Let’s stay like this for a bit, I’m kind of dizzy. And you’re warm…” He at least had the decency to look sheepish despite their indecent position, tangled up in each other arms. The corridor they’d fallen in looked like it was rarely used, sports equipment and boxes lined the walls. They probably wouldn’t be disturbed.

“Fine, but only for a few minutes.” Mo conceded.

“Thanks…” He dropped his head back and Mo could see the quick rise and fall if his chest. They were quiet for a bit, the silence comfortable, but then there was a nudge between his legs as He Tian bent his knee upward sliding him forward so their hips aligned.

“Hey!” Mo sputtered, struggling. “What the hell!”

“This position is better,” He Tian laughed.

Shows up for day 3 late af with Starbucks. Thank you for reading! x

#19 days #tianshanchristmasevent #he tian #mo guan shan #my writing #kis writes

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gyromitra-esculenta · 6 years

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Crackverse 10: How Harry Met Sa... Part 1

This is a trip down the memory lane. Pretty much the ‘how the hell did they get together?’ and a part of ‘why are there that many Smurfs references in this whole fic?’. Sadly, there are no ugly-ass sweaters this time. The second part will include ‘there was only one bed *gasp*’.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3Part 4 Part 5Part 6 Part 7 Xmas New Year Part 8 Soulmate AU Part 9

One wired jaw later Gabriel realized he was in love.

To say that Gabriel was utterly unimpressed with Jack Morrison upon their first meeting was an understatement. The man was big, blonde, blue-eyed, had well-pronounced cheekbones and a chin you could cut yourself on, and in general appeared as if he just walked out of White Power rally, or maybe even worse, stepped out of Wehrmacht propaganda where he had been used as an example of a perfect Aryan. His carefree cockiness also radiated the textbook case of jock, whose idea of a fun night out was cow tipping. And then, the blonde wasn’t even his type, he preferred them a bit shorter and quieter.

However, not unlike the Autobots, there was much more going under that hood than met the eye.

Yes, Gabriel Reyes was a nerd.

One of the first qualities that could be observed about Jack Morrison was his apparent death wish. No matter the circumstances, be it sparring, training, or war games, the man was like a rabid wolverine. Literally. Or a rabid honey badger because ratels were scary as shit on their own, but add to that rabies…

Which was many roundabout words to describe the fact that the blonde would take on someone twice his size without looking back, might die fighting his opponent, but, sure as hell, he was taking said opponent down with him. And then he would seemingly resurrect like in those documentaries, all with that demented toothy smile of his plastered on his bloodied lips. And Gabriel was not beyond appreciating that kind of dedication (or craziness).

Yes, Gabriel Reyes was a nerd who not only watched old cartoons – he relaxed with Animal Planet on.

Another characteristic of Jack Morrison was not letting any kind of bullshit fly by him, which more often than not ended with a brawl.

“That fucking filthy chink,” Beckson muttered one day in the gym, loud enough for everyone to hear. Jack only smiled that deranged smile of his and put the water bottle down on the bench. Then he almost flew at the man.

Later, with tissue paper stuffed up his nose, still smiling, Jack shrugged at Gabriel’s question of what the fuck was wrong with him.

“I’m not fucking going to let the motherfucker insult my siblings, am I?”

Somehow, Gabriel thought the grin accompanying the blonde’s answer was, in fact, a teeny bit attractive. He pegged it as cabin fever.

All of the above made Jack Morrison tolerable, but not someone you would spend your time with or talk to. Until the Smurfs Incident.

“What the fuck are you watching? Are those fucking Smurfs?” Gabriel sighed, exasperated, ready to either tell Jack to kindly fuck off or to make up some lame excuse. “Wow, and that’s the shitty racist episode. You know they were fucking black in the original version?”

“Yeah,” Gabriel grunted when Jack wriggled himself onto the bunk to sit by his side and elbowed him to move the screen so he could watch too. “How do you even know that?”

“Hyung was fucking obsessed with this shit, had to dress up for fucking Halloween, twice as Gargamel and once as fucking Smurfette.” Gabriel snorted trying to imagine Jack in a white skirt. “What? I think I made a fucking fine Smurfette!”

“Pictures or it didn’t happen.”

“I’ll get Ma to send me some. Ha, get them, Azrael!”

It got the ball rolling. In the end, they were both kind of nerdy, although each in his own way.

Thing was, Ma and Pa Morrison were the God-fearing sort, Catholics, and firmly believed in procreation and populating the God-given Earth, so Jack was the middle child out of ten total, with four sisters and five brothers – all nine of them adopted.

Gabriel didn’t even try to remember the names the blonde gleefully rattled off showing him the pictures, especially since few of them sounded like something nigh unpronounceable. And yes, he had to concede Jack made a damn fine Smurfette, especially considering he had shaved his legs for the occasion. Though, a definitely manly Smurfette.

“Oh my fucking god, that fucking itched like shit regrowing, should have gone with fucking stockings,” the blonde groaned when Gabriel just tapped his finger on the aforementioned photographic evidence. “It got me five beers and a fucking date, on a positive note. And a shit-ton of sweets to divide later.”

“Dated a cheerleader?” Gabriel swiped to another photo where the blonde posed with a trophy. Jack, for a brief moment, looked maybe a bit angry, but then just shrugged.

“Arsehole. Yeah, I did. Went to prom, fucked under the bleachers, almost gave him a shiner week later when he fucking broke up with me because he had said he fucking felt he was obliged to give me a pity fuck before.”

Right. Gabriel knew a thing or two about computers, and it helped the school had no security to speak of. The yearbook had a page titled ‘The Kings of the Prom’.

He was in deep shit now.

With the restricted access to the outside world and a very shallow dating pool - not to mention close living quarters that made tempers run short - it was almost inevitable, Gabriel surmised in retrospect, that he had developed a bit of infatuation. The first time it happened, he had been cussing Jack out for keeping his boot-clad feet on the bunk.

“My fucking ass is not moving from the fucking bed,” Jack shot back while turning another page of a worn out book. Gabriel added what he would do to that ass under his breath in Spanish, and froze when he had realized what exactly left his mouth. Thanks to whatever deity that decided to listen, Jack casually looked up at him. “Yeah, fuck you and your little dog too.”

The second time it happened was during sparring when he had finally gotten the upper hand on Jack. The blonde narrowed his eyes, snarled something incomprehensible back, and then used Gabriel’s confusion to twist and elbow him hard just below the ribs.

“Puto!”

“Skurwysyn!”

“Vodka!” Someone called from the benches, laughing.

After that, it became a casual thing with Jack obviously not understanding a word except some most common profanities and answering in kind. Gabriel wasn’t really proud of that, but hey, it helped to relieve some tension.

It all came to a screeching halt two months later when a new supervisor was inducted into the program. The woman, almost unnaturally tall and lanky, with a skin nearly glowing with a shade of violet and raised decorative lines of scars on her forehead, was waiting for them just outside of the showers.

“Mister Morrison.” Jack stared at her like a deer caught in the headlights, his expression somewhere between pure shock and utter terror. “I get invited to evaluate and supervise the super secret enhancement program and while reviewing the personnel files who do I see enrolled?”

“Achan!” The blonde lost one of his flip-flops when he launched himself at her, engulfing her in a hug.

“Hello, little brother.” Well, Gabriel did comment on that. The little part, not the brother thing. “And here, Ma and Pa are thinking you are doing top secret ranger missions.”

“Oh, fuck, you aren’t going to snitch?”

“And what? Tell them their boy might drop dead any moment because of complex chemicals pumped into his body as opposed to being shred to bits by omnics?”

“Fucking touché,” Jack released her, laughing. “So I won’t fucking snitch you’re not working on your fucking grant, sis.”

“It was enough you weren’t home for Christmas, Jack.” The blonde groaned. “You are coming back for Easter, and, as a gift for the whole family, you can bring your friend.” Achan poked his forehead and Jack tsked, looking back for a second.

“That’s not really fucking good idea, sis. They’re going to start getting fucking ideas.”

Well, Gabriel had some choice words about fucking but seeing Achan’s brows rise made him realize that maybe, maybe, he had made a grave tactical error.

“I’m going to look the other way now,” the new supervisor smirked at Jack as if she were daring him to say ‘hold my beer’. The blonde shuffled on his feet and then turned around rapidly. The punch was solid, but not undeserved, Gabriel admitted to himself from the floor. Jack loomed over him.

“You want to tap that fucking ass, fucking ask.”

Well, it was definitely not his most shining moment. Honestly, it was as far as it got from the most shining moment. It topped even vomiting blood at three-months mark into the program. Gabriel resigned to it and went with the flow.

“Wanna fuck?”

“Sure, why not?” Jack shrugged. “Coming for Easter?”

“Possibly.”

“And call me a butterfly again and you’ll need a proctologist to get that boot outta your arse.”

“I hope this is the last time I’m playing your wingman, little brother.”

One wired jaw later Gabriel realized he was in love. The revelation had not been welcome. He urgently hoped it would pass soon. It still didn’t make the rest of the day any less awkward than it was already.

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chunyuan · 6 years

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Xmas gift #30

This is my fanfic for @gootbuttpaladin this Christmas, I hope you like it even though it’s my first time writing something like this and it has a lot of mistakes. Anyways, Merry Xmas to you and every Ereri fan out there!

Note: No smut, sorry T_T

"Love consists of this: two solitudes that meet, protect and greet each other."

— Rainer Maria Rilke

------

Levi glares at the dead clock on the wall.

It is seven forty in the morning, but the damn clock only showed five and fifty. Since when did the clock die? He remembers changing the batteries two weeks ago. Then he remembers the clock has been running for more than ten years, and it is breaking down more often than ever.

Damn that clock. He is going to be late for work now. He must get up, find something to eat quick and maybe call a cab. Since going by bus is not really an option if he wanted to show up before nine. That is how much time you waste when you choose to live thirteen kilometers away from where you work.

However, as he gets up to the bathroom, passing the damn calendar, does he remember that today is the first day of his maternity leave. He cussed himself for being old and forgetting things easily.

Yes, Levi Ackerman is pregnant at six months. At the age of thirty two, no less. With an alpha who is nine years younger than him, no less. Said alpha is still snoring on his bed, naked and face full of bliss. Levi sighs and goes back to bed, sitting on one side and stroking his alpha’s head.

“Eren, wake up. You’re gonna be late soon.”

The alpha’s eyes flutter at the call of his name, but remain closed no matter what.

“Five more minutes, Levi. Your bed is literally calling me to go back to dreamland with it.” With a yawn, the alpha turns his back on Levi and buries himself deep under the blankets, which sure smells exactly like the “love nectar” they produced last night.

“If you don’t wake up now, I’m gonna kick you until you shit yourself, I promise. Or worse…” Levi rolls his eyes, trying to think of some more threatening threats, and smirks. “Or worse, I will send your most embarrassing photos to Jean. Like the one when you shit yourself thinking I was selling drugs.” He adds with a more playful tone.

The alpha groans. “Hey! I was six! And why do you only remember the moments I embarrassed myself?”

Eren got up to get ready to work nevertheless, but not before kissing Levi on the cheeks, a gesture he always does each morning. Levi watches his alpha grumpily stumbles into the bathroom with a chuckle, amused at how that alpha is still a bit childish.

He met Eren when he was in middle school. His mother Kuchel owns a spa, and she has many regulars, including Eren’s mother. The two ladies developed friendship over the addiction of skincare, and since both were proud of their sons, wanting the two of them to meet and be friends either. So the next weekend Mrs. Jaeger came into the spa with her four-year-old son clinging onto her hands, obviously not feeling good at being at an unfamiliar place.

However, when he laid eyes on Levi, who was eleven at the time, he literally ran up to the older boy.

“Big brother wants to play with me?”

Even though he was still a child who got uncomfortable being at a stranger’s place, the alpha subconsciously knew his status as the controller and acted upon instincts when seeing an omega. It was not in a way that demanded submission, but it was still full with pride, mixed with a bit of playfulness as well as curiosity of a child. Moreover, the small alpha’s eyes were shining as if hoping to be accepted.

Cute, Levi thought. He always wanted a younger brother anyways. And that was how their bond was formed.

Except that the cute younger alpha grew up too fast for Levi’s liking. When Eren turned fifteen, the alpha was ten centimeters taller than Levi. He felt so small all too suddenly at first, but their bond turned a bit differently after Eren got his first rut, which was after his sixteenth birthday.

They felt attracted to each other. All of a sudden Eren smelled like both honey and thyme, while to Eren, Levi smelled like sweet basil and pine mixed with a bit of ginger. And Levi was glad he was smaller than Eren, shorter than Eren, because nothing felt as good as being embraced by the younger alpha. Nothing could compare to being showered with kisses softly by Eren, while he himself caressed every inch of the younger’s body. Nothing could compare to being tangled with each other whispering I love you and crying tears of happiness. They are mates.

Levi smiles at the memories. Eren has gone to work for half an hour now, after clumsily making breakfast for both of them, stuffing a big sandwich into his mouth and literally ran to catch the bus. The alpha graduated a year ago with two diplomas in Culinary and Life Science. Levi understood the choice of Life Science, since Eren was always fascinated by the world, but Culinary was an odd major for an alpha. Especially with Eren’s shitty cooking when they first started dating. He still does not know now, but Eren’s cooking has improved a lot, and he can even make restaurant-leveled dishes, unlike Levi who can only cook regular meals.

Looking at his belly and touching it in a tender way, Levi whispers.

“Well, isn’t your father a great alpha?”

-----

Levi spends the first two weeks of his maternity leave preparing gifts for Christmas. Eren helps him decorate the tree and their house when he comes back from work, and does all the cooking everyday. Since Levi is pregnant, their family and friends will gather at their place this year instead. Christmas party will be a big party consisting of more than ten people, too many for Levi’s usual liking, but he does not mind when it comes to the ones he loved. Even his past roommates Isabel and Farlan, as well as best friend Hange will be there. Things seem a bit busy, but Levi and Eren prepare well and the Christmas party is full of warmth and happiness. Laughter fills the air as all of them have dinner, which all the food is made by Eren.

When it is all over and everyone went back to their hotels, Levi is pulled into a hug by his mother.

“I see that Eren takes care of you well. You are so chubby now. Must be all of Eren’s delicious cooking.” She smiles as she caresses his hair.

“Mom…” He stutters.

“He loves you.” She cuts him off, glancing at Eren who is sending his side of family off, before turning to look at Levi lovingly.

“Yeah. He’s a good alpha.” Levi blushes while answering.

As he sends his mother on her taxi, Levi remembers ten-year-old Eren asking him these questions over and over:

“Levi-san! Why do you always drink tea? Why do you eat so little? You don’t like milk? You should drink milk everyday like me! My brother Zeke is younger but he’s bigger than you! I don’t like broccoli, but Mom says it’s good for my health so I eat it, you should too!”

Then he knows. He now knows why his alpha husband chose to study Culinary back then, and his heart feels full already at the thought.

----

Eren Jaeger glares at the dead clock on the wall.

It reads four fifteen. It is around that time when their Christmas party starts, so he does not really realise it is dead. It is fucking dead, again. After saying goodbye to his mother-in-law, he leads Levi inside and runs to grab his phone, still charging upstairs to check the time.

Thank God, it is only eleven twenty. He still has a lot of time to prepare.

Christmas is always a special season. Not only because it is a family union, but because it is also Levi’s birthday. His omega’s birthday. Moreover, the other is pregnant with his child. He wants to make it as memorable as possible.

He considered many options on how he should celebrate this day. Food was out the question, since he would cook too much for the whole family anyways. Levi does not wear anything too fancy, so clothings and jewelry were not that magnificent. Levi likes reading books, but Eren was sure he got every book out there already. Pregnancy makes Levi lose sleep often, reading is a way to spend the extra time, especially when he is always home now.

Levi rarely wanting anything makes Eren want to shower his omega with many things. His omega deserves the best, after all he was the one who saved Eren from the very beginning of time. Levi was the one who saved his life, his soul, his entire being.

Especially two thousand years ago.

It is ironic that they were reborn like this, but to Eren it is also a blessing. This time he is the one in control. This time he is the provider, taking care of Levi and ensuring his safety. Eren’s heart and inner alpha swell with pride because he is doing those things well, even though their house is still small, even though Eren have not advanced as far as others. However, Levi is living a happy life with him and their friends, not suffering in silence because of the lost comrades like in the other lifetime.

Most importantly, they are expecting their first child.

Smiling in content, Eren takes out his prepared gift and heads downstairs to the kitchen. He is going to make some hot cocoa first to warm his omega husband first.

---

Levi is opening his presents one by one. He is not picky with what people give him, but he likes the surprise. When your life has people like Hange around, surprises are both horrible and amusing. Especially when he receives an absolutely normal gift this time. Gingerbread bath bombs, along with some Himalayan massage salt. Levi could draw himself a bath right now.

Farlan and Isabel give him sexy lingeries. To spice it up since we guess he holds back such a long time now, you know. It is what the card inside say, or something along the lines. Okay, they are not bad. Not bad at all. Levi wonders what Eren will think when the alpha sees this.

Then he immediately dismisses the thought because his alpha will absolutely like it. A lot.

Other presents are pretty much normal, things he can use for daily activities. His mom gives him some baby oil, Eren’s parents give them children’s clothes and a cot. Too soon since they will be gathering around the house again when Levi is due anyways. Mikasa and Armin, Eren’s best friends, give him a songbook and some records for their gramophone.

Levi happily takes the records out and put one of them in the player. Their gramophone is old, but he loves the genuine, classic and nostalgic sound it makes. It is also the only thing his great grandfather left him with. While it is on, he turns to Eren who is carefully putting two cups of hot cocoa on the table.

“I love this song.” He exclaims and gives the alpha a hug.

They stay like that for a moment when the song plays, swaying a bit to the music as they enjoy each other’s warmth. Levi leans into Eren’s broad shoulder, while Eren’s hands supporting and caressing Levi’s lower back.

They have to sit down when Levi feels a kick coming from the baby. Sipping the hot cocoa his alpha made, Levi relaxes into the couch. Eren’s hands are still caressing both his hair and back, with the occasional slip onto his thighs.

“Don’t tell me you are horny, because you smell really enticing right now.” Levi remarks, but does nothing to stop Eren’s wandering hands, instead he chooses to lean into the alpha and inhales.

“Really? Are you sure it’s not you who feels horny because cocoa stirs you up?” Eren says jokingly, then brings both his hands to cup Levi’s face. Their eyes linger on each other for God knows how long, before Eren kisses Levi’s lips softly.

Levi melts into the kiss. Eren’s kisses always have a mysterious power over him. Want and lust aside, Eren always manages to make Levi feel safe. Just like this nest, where they can live and do things they like without a care in the world, Eren leads Levi into some kind of dream-like state, except that it is real.

I feel like I can live like this forever. Levi thinks as he puts his hands on the alpha, letting the kiss deepen. Eren is being extremely passionate and careful as time goes by, especially when Levi is in this vulnerable state, pregnancy. And all those things just add up to the fuel in their love life, sending sparks after sparks throughout their bodies where they touch.

After a long while, Eren pulls back and kisses Levi’s cheeks and forehead softly. The omega whines a bit, but lets his alpha end their session nonetheless. He still smells like an overwhelming mess, though.

“Now let’s exchange gifts. Your Xmas gift to me and my double gifties to you.” Eren chuckles and places a small red box in Levi’s lap, while Levi pulls out...a sock under the tea table. Eren rolls his eyes, but seeing the stern look on Levi’s face, he dares not to laugh just because.

“Since I’m your Santa, I suppose putting your gift in a sock is the traditional way.” Levi says as he drops the poorly knitted sock into the alpha’s hands, eyes averting away. “And I have plenty of time to kill anyways. Open it.”

The object inside is the exact opposite of its container. It is soft and it has a beautiful pattern and in a color that matches Eren’s eyes. Eren smiles softly as he pulls the item out of the sock, fingers sliding on the smooth material. It’s a tie, something Eren can wear to work and be reminded of Levi in many ways and vice versa.

While Eren feels loved and contented, the omega, however, has an intrigued look on his face after seeing his Christmas and birthday gifts. Inside the box lies a key, along with two airplane tickets. How mysterious. He carefully picks up the key and inspects it. Looks like a car key. The two airplane tickets has the destination of Paradis, somewhere so far away that Levi has not been to yet, but it is deemed the perfect place for a honeymoon. Why a honeymoon again? He is sure their honeymoon to Etruria last summer was ecstasy enough Eren got Levi pregnant right away. How wonderful.

Sensing the curiosity of the omega, Eren speaks out as he links their hands together. “You know, the key is for our new car. I suppose it’s time we have our own commuting vehicle. As for the tickets, it’s for summer holidays. I want us to be there together next summer.” He knows Levi loves traveling, but the omega does not like it being on public holidays. Bunches of motherfuckers out there. However, Eren can only accumulate enough paid leaves at that time.

“Well, you bought a car?”

“We can travel on our own with it. It’ll be easier if we need a quick ride here and there too.”

Levi does not want to be a burden on his alpha. A house, a large enough balance in their bank account and his love seem too plenty already. Sometimes Eren tries too hard to be considered successful. He knows it is not because Eren wants to be recognized, but to make life easy for the omega instead. That is why Levi lets Eren pamper him. However, as their child is due soon, buying a car means they are being short of money. Levi’s smells must have given his thoughts away, since Eren pulls him close and comforts the omega. “Don’t worry, I can always make more money.” Eren’s words always have the little kind of magic which can make Levi relax right away.

Yes. Eren can always make more money. After all, he is an alpha, a man with strength and knowledge, as well as some kind of leading power. Eren will always easily find a suitable job. And I can, either. Levi thinks.

“All right.” The omega agrees with his alpha about their new car and the trip in summer, when their child is already born.

A journey to an exotic island with his husband should not sound like some burden. Levi decides it would be best if they can enjoy every bit and piece of their life. They are not rich, and certainly not anything more special than other alpha and omega couples, but Levi knows they are happy.

Happy being with each other.

Levi lets Eren lead him to their bedroom, turning in for the day. They exchange whispers of love as well as Happy birthday and Merry Christmas. Lying in the arms of his alpha, Levi dreams of the warm sunshine and breeze of the sea. In his dreams, there are familiar people as well as faces he has never seen before, but they are all celebrating something together. There are so many people around him, too many to his liking, of course, but somehow the feeling is not bad.

Especially when Eren is there in his dream, too.

“To get the full value of a joy you must have somebody to divide it with.” - Mark Twain

END

#ererisecretsanta2k17 #ereri fanfic #levi x eren #gootbuttpaladin #ereri #riren #anyways why can't I tag #I dunno what to do anymore

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