#mad at me for freaking out the renovation but it’s like ok you come into our living space you destroy core parts of my childhood and also | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

jobean12-blog · 4 years

Text

Top Shelf: Chapter 16- Turning Over a New Leaf

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader (Bookshop/Bartender/Baking AU)

Word Count: 2,255

Summary: You’re busy with all the good stuff and renovations are well underway at the Bookshop, you set a date for the reopening, Bucky wants to make a change but he’s not sure how you’ll react.

Author’s Note: Happy Monday again guys! As always just want to thank you again for coming along on this journey with me. Every time I write a new chapter it makes me smile and I hope you do too. This one was fun for obvious reasons...don’t be mad at me! I had to do it. Thank you again for your continued support and kindess and for reading! Much love always ❤❤❤

Warnings: Fluff (as usual), fun with friends, some sexy teasing and flirting and implied sexy times, Bucky’s beard...

Top Shelf Masterlist

The next few weeks fly by in a dizzying haze of Bucky, the Bookshop renovations and your friends. You somehow manage to fit working a full-time job in there but it’s the least of your priorities and you are seriously starting to question how much longer you want to work there. It’s great and the people you work with are nice, but your heart just isn’t in it.

It’s already the end of August and Steve is finishing up the construction at the Bookshop. It’s coming along nicely, and he has even gotten Bucky to help and learn a few things along the way. “Hey Buck, hand me that saw please.” Bucky grabs it from the table and hands it to Steve but not before tucking a stray strand of hair behind his ear and nearly stabbing himself with the pointy end.

“Bucky. You gotta watch out. You’ve been messin’ with your hair all day. What am I supposed to tell y/n when you’re missing an ear?” Bucky chuckles at that but blows over his face to try to get the hair out of it. “It’s gotten so damn annoying. I really want to cut it.” Steve starts sawing, keeping his eyes on his work while he asks, “then why don’t you just get it cut?” Bucky takes his hair out of the bun and tries to smooth it back, sliding the hair tie over his wrist. “Because I’m pretty sure she’ll kill me if I do.”

Neither of them hears you come in over the sawing and their combined chatter. “Who will kill you if you do what, babe?” Bucky’s head shoots up mid hair fixing, and he smiles. Quickly securing it with the elastic he walks over and grabs you up in a big hug, kissing you several times before placing you on your feet. “I brought lunch,” you say holding up the bags with a warm smile.

Steve whoops and takes one bag, sitting himself on the floor and digging in. “So, Bucky thinks if he cuts his hair you’ll freak,” Steve explains through a mouthful of sandwich. Bucky grits his teeth but manages to look you in the eye, “don’t listen to him, I won’t cut it.” Steve flaps his sandwich in your direction. “He has been complaining about it since we started this and today has been the worst.”

You laugh at Steve with his sandwich but when you catch Bucky’s eye again, he looks worried. A loose strand of hair has fallen in front of his face again and he tries to blow it away. It doesn’t work so you tuck it behind his ear and trail your fingers down his jaw, gently combing through his full beard. “Ok, first of all. I wouldn’t freak out. I love your hair but honestly baby, it would be fine if got it cut. You’ll look handsome with any style and I’m not in love with you for your hair you know.”

Steve makes a gagging noise from the floor and Bucky shoots him a death glare. “Are you choking, or do I need to kick your ass?” He swallows his bite and makes a face, “you guys are sickening you know that.” Popping your head over Bucky’s shoulder you point a finger right at him. “Don’t you start sassing me Steve Rogers…I have to deal with you and Peggy through all this wedding planning and I haven’t said a damn word because I love you and I’m happy to be a part of it. So, shut it! Or…I’ll tell Peggy.”

That shuts him up but not before a few more grumbles. He finishes eating and gets back to work, leaving you two to your hair conversation. “Are you sure you don’t care?” You give Bucky a reassuring smile. “I definitely do not. BUT there is one condition.” His eyebrows meet his hairline as he waits. “You cannot shave your beard.” You say it with such authority and seriousness it has him throwing his head back in laughter. “Ok, boss, you got it.”

Throwing your hands up you roll your eyes and smash the bag of lunch into his chest. “Eat! I got your favorite.” Bucky leans against the table and opens the bag, pulling out his lunch and grinning. “Thanks, beautiful, I’m starving!” He eats it fast and gets back to work with Steve. You ask if they need anything else before heading back to work.

Bucky walks you to the back to get your bag but before you can retrieve it, he has you pressed against the bookshelf. “I wish you didn’t have to go back to work.” His thigh parts your legs and pushes against you, earning him a soft moan. “Bucky…don’t tease,” you whisper, closing your eyes when he starts kissing along your neck. He holds you against the bookshelf for a few more minutes, slowly building you up before he pulls away and smirks.

“Better get back to work before you’re late.” You level him with a warning look, forcefully pulling your bag over your shoulder. “Oh, you’re so dead, Barnes. Two can play at this game.” With that you stalk off, yelling bye to Steve on the way out. “Hey babe, wait,” Bucky calls after you, stopping in his tracks when you turn and glare. “Um, I’m gonna try to make my hair appointment for after work. Just wanted to let you know.” With a twinkle in your eye you give him a thumbs up, “sounds good baby, see you tonight.”

The rest of the day flies by as you push through e-mails for work as well as e-mails regarding the new baking equipment that has to be delivered next week. You’re going to set yourself up with a small kitchen in the back area so everything can be freshly baked at the shop. Bucky is also getting a state-of-the-art coffee machine and all the necessary accessories.

You and Bucky continue you to tease each other over text and when you finally get home, you’re exhausted but completely riled up at the same time. Deciding a bath might help you relax you fill the tub with hot water and get in, sinking down to your neck and letting out a deep breath. Not long after you hear the sound of the door and Bucky’s voice calling from down the hall.

“I’m in here Buck!” Your eyes are closed so when he first walks in you don’t look up. He kneels down near the tub and brushes his hand over your cheek. “You look soft and relaxed,” he whispers. You hum and turn your head, slowly opening your eyes. With a gasp you sit up, sloshing water out onto the floor. “Oh Bucky. WOW.” He looks concerned and asks, “like a good wow or oh no this is bad wow.”

Instead of answering him you stand up and reach for your towel. His gaze roams over your wet body and he adjusts himself in his jeans. “I’ve been thinking about this all day, you’re not helping, and you didn’t answer my question.” Stepping out of the bath with the help of his hand you wrap the towel around you and look him over again.

“That was a good wow. A very good wow.” Taking your hand, you comb it through his short but fluffy locks. They are silky soft and still long enough to tug which you do, and he moans. “I love it. I love it so much.” Pressing yourself against him you let the towel fall to the floor, placing kisses up his neck and over his beard. “You know, I had this whole plan to put on some lingerie and tease you…give you a taste of your own medicine, but now…” You trail off when your lips find his and you cling to his biceps to steady yourself.

He pulls away, breathing against your lips, “and now?” Your hands are in his hair and your lips brush over his jaw. “Now I can’t wait another minute. I need you.” With those words he lifts you into his arms and takes you to bed, making up for all the teasing and more.

When you wake the next morning, you’re tired and sore but in the most satisfied way. Thankful it’s Friday you take your time getting ready for work, periodically breaking to watch Bucky sleep. His hair is tousled from your hands last night and the morning light catches some of the lighter strands, reminding you of caramel. You really like this new look.

Once you’re ready to leave you round the bed to give sleeping beauty a kiss. His eyes flutter open when your lips press to his and his hand wraps around the back of your neck. Before he can drag you back into bed you pull away, tracing your fingers over his mouth. “I love you.” His soft smile fades when he closes his eyes again, kissing your hand and murmuring, “I love you,” before his gentle breathing is all you hear.

You stay seated on the edge of the bed for a few more moments, running your fingers through his hair and just admiring how handsome he is. When you finally make it out of the apartment you have to haul ass to make it to work on time, sitting down just as your phone rings. It’s Tony. He wants to discuss setting a date for the re-opening of the bookshop. You update him on the construction and delivery schedule and agree to meet early next week to figure it out.

Nat and Peggy come over later that night and the three of you work on wedding things. Peggy asked you to make the wedding cake and you’re terrified but of course you said yes. So, you spend the evening talking about the boys, trying some cake flavors you baked and looking at wedding dresses on Pinterest. Sam and Bucky are working the bar tonight and Steve is there hanging out, so you keep getting silly pictures of the three of them in a group text.

“Bucky looks pretty amazing with that new haircut,” Peggy comments, looking at the newest photo they sent, “and I wish Steve would let his beard grow out!” Your grin turns devious under your wine glass, “have you told him that?” Peggy smirks, giving you a sideways glance. “Not in those simple words.” Placing your glass down you lean in close as if Bucky is near enough to hear, “we’ve been so busy right, so shaving wasn’t really something Bucky wanted to do regularly because it’s a pain in the ass so his beard kept getting more full and I love it…you know.”

Nat looks at you expectantly and Peggy just looks confused. When your silent for another minute they both shout, “you know what???” Standing up you cover your mouth to stop your giggles and put your hands on your hips, “I can’t believe you aren’t catching my drift here.” They give each other a look then glare at you. “But you haven’t said anything except he didn’t feel like shaving much, so his beard got full,” Peggy states with a hmpf.

Nat’s eyes begin to narrow as she pieces it together. “Oh my god! You mean you like it between your legs, don’t you? You couldn’t have just said that?” She throws a crumpled napkin at your head and you all burst into laughter. Peggy grabs her phone and types a mile a minute, squealing when she sets it down. “I just text Steve and told him I want him to grow a beard so I can feel it between my legs…” You hear your phone chime and suck in a breath. “Did you send it just to Steve or to ALL of us?” Peggy pales, taking her phone and checking the message. “OH MY GOD!”

Next week…

After a very long but productive meeting with Tony you all decide that you should be ready to reopen on September 22nd. It’s the official first day of fall and a perfect way to launch into all the pumpkin spice and fall goodies you have planned. This gives you just about 4 full weeks to bring it all together. You’re sitting on the couch going over a list of what you want to serve at the opening when Bucky walks in after a shower. His long fingers comb over his beard as he watches you. “I still can’t believe Peg sent that text. I’m still laughing.”

“Oh, me too, I nearly peed my pants when it happened. And now that Steve is growing out his beard, we can endlessly tease him!” Silence descends and you feel the couch dip when he sits, drawing your attention from the list. “Hi.” Leaning forward you kiss his cheek and sit yourself in his lap. “Wanna see my list so far?” He wraps his arms around you and leans his head on your shoulder. “Of course. Do I get to taste test all of these?”

Counting down your list you have 8 treats, none of which he has eaten yet. “Oh definitely, I’m going to be doing a lot of baking the next couple of weeks. I can bring them to the bar for Sam and everyone to try too.” With his face in your neck Bucky hums his agreement. “You know what I think I’m most excited about,” he says, tickling you with his beard. “What?” you laugh, turning to meet his eyes. “For Grandma to see it all.”

@aesthetical-bucky @auro-ora @bugsbucky @buckys-broody-muffin @buckys-henley @buckys-minty-breath @book-dragon-13 @bucky-on-my-mind @eurynome827 @hiddles-rose @ikaris-whore @itsunclebucky @imgaril-lindru @jhangelface0523 @jewels2876 @kaosera @loricameback @lorilane33 @littledarlinhavefaithinme @littleredstarfish @breezy1415 @mushyjellybeans @marvelandotherfandomimagines @marvelgirl7 @nano--raptor @pinkdiamond1016 @randomfandompenguin @sallycanwait68 @softpeachbarnes @tuiccim @the-wayward-robot @yansi1923 @hiddles-rose @hailmary-yramliah @hawksmagnolia @flyawaybay @throwmyheartawayagain @amandatar-06 @nd1998sc @captainchrisstan @vherriepie @godofplumsandthunder @when-the-hell-is-bucky @fire-flv @jamesbarnesappreciationclub @irishflutiegirl @rinthehufflepuff @moonybarnes @nordlysinthewoods @scarletsoldierrr @inflxmes @lauratang @my-favorite-fics-and-imagines @buchanansebba @emilylyoness @curlyred2020 @addikted-2-dopamine @lady-pswrld @lookiamtrying @tales-of-spring @lokilvrr @mishaandthebrits

269 notes · View notes

bentnotbroken1fanfiction · 4 years

Text

Teacher Steve/ Single Dad Billy AU

Part I Part II

The first thing he does when he walks in the door is call out his treacherous sisters name. "Maxine!"

He hears her curse in the kitchen and then Becca asking, "What's wrong Aunt Max?"

"Nothing, your dad is just being silly."

He turns the corner and she's standing at the stove pouring sauce over the noodles in the pan. Becca is on a stool, next to her, watching intently.

Until she sees him and hops down, smiling as she gives him a hug. So she's having a good day today. "Auntie said you went to talk to my teacher after work, Daddy."

"Yeah, I did." He says and glares at his sister. "And a bit of a heads up would have been fu-freaking nice, Max."

She looks like she's trying not to smile. "Huh? Did I not mention-"

"I swear to god-"

"Oh, come on. Stop acting like a baby. If I had told you, you would have hid at home and made me go."

"I'm not acting like a baby, Maxine. I would have still gone, it just would have been nice to not be blindsided." He sighs, "I nearly-" He stops and covers his daughters ears before he whisper hisses, "popped a boner just seeing him."

She loses it, laughs so hard tears are gathering at the corner of her eyes. "Oh my god!"

He lets go of Becca's ears and scowls at her as she clutches her stomach. "I'm so glad my suffering amuses you."

"I just- this is great!" She wipes the tears away. "You should go for it."

"Go for what, Daddy?"

He shakes his head. "Nothing, sweetheart. Your aunt is just being a brat."

"I'm just saying, there's nothing holding you back this time."

He motions to Becca. "Oh really?"

"Like she'd care." She scoffs and goes back to stirring. "She adores Steve."

"Yeah, well. I doubt it would end well, if it even went anywhere to begin with." He replies and pulls some bowls out of the cabinet. "Lucas gonna be home soon?"

She sighs. "No, he's helping his dad with some stuff, so he's eating there tonight."

He can tell she's disappointed. Lucas had been busy with work and helping his dad renovate the kitchen and living room for two weeks. "It will be done soon. Then you'll have him all to yourself again."

"Nuh uh. She has to share Uncle Lucas with me." Becca interjects.

"Oh. Well, it looks like you've got some competition Mad Max." He laughs.

"I'm afraid I've already lost. Who could win against that cute face?" She says, fondly pinching Becca's cheek.

He opens the fridge to find the parmesan cheese and frowns when he can't find it. "We out of parmesan?"

"Oh, shi- shoot. Yeah. Sorry." She apologizes and starts helping the little girl with her bowl of spaghetti. "I really need to go to the store."

"Don't worry about it. Me and the little lady can go tomorrow after I get off work." He doesn't mind doing the grocery shopping. Becca likes to help pick things out.

He sits down to eat but before he can even get a bite Max smirks at him and he stops with his fork hovering. "What?"

"Just thinking about your crush and how much fun I'm going to have messing with you."

"You're such a bi- brat." He growls and shoves his fork in his mouth before he says anything vulgar. He's trying to cut back on the cursing. Set a good example or whatever.

It's annoying though.

Almost as annoying as his stupid sister.

"Don't pout, Billy." She laughs. "What kind of sister would I be if I didn't stick my nose in your business and give you hell?"

"A better one?" He suggests.

"A boring one."

Yeah, well, two can play at that game. "Does your mom know that you're thinking about marrying Lucas at the courthouse?"

All the mirth vanishes from her face. "That's not funny. You know how much mom wants to plan a ridiculously girly wedding. If you tell her that, she'll guilt trip me into letting her."

He'd never really tell Susan. He just likes to make her squirm, so he shrugs.

"Billy."

"Alright. I won't say anything." He relents. "If you promise to let up on the.. crush thing."

She sounds very put upon but agrees. "Fine."

Becca, who had been watching the two of them talk, speaks up. "What is a crush?"

Billy inwardly sighs but looks right at his sister. "Ask Aunt Max. I'm sure she'd love to explain it to you."

He gets a murderous glare from her as Becca asks for her to explain it.

He's nearly finished eating by the time she's done.

It's a little later, after dinner is over and the dishes are done, after bath time is finished and good night hugs are passed out, that he tucks her into bed. "Hey, I wanted to talk to you about school for a second."

She pulls her stuffed bear to her chest and tilts her head. "Ok."

"Your teacher said that sometimes you get upset and don't want to talk during class. He was worried," He pauses because she's having a good day, and what he says next could possibly spoil that, "so I told him about mom. I hope that is ok with you."

She gets a little misty eyed but blinks it away. "Yeah. Mr Harrington is really nice. I don't care if he knows."

"Ok." He's relieved when she doesn't cry. He hates it when she cries. He feels like he can't do a damn thing to help her when it happens. "So, which story do you want me to read tonight?"

She looks thoughtful before deciding, "The one with horse and the princess, please."

"Sure." This was something he'd had to get used to because Mommy always reads to me at bedtime at home. He wasn't really a read out loud kind of person, but he'd had to learn to be. Becca slept better when he would.

He pulls the right one out from the bookshelf and settles down beside her, starting off with once upon a time. Because all of her stories start that way.

As he reads he does different little voices. The first time he'd attempted that, she had dissolved into a fit of giggles. Don't worry, Daddy. You'll get better.

And maybe he's still not like the best, but he thinks he's come a long way since that first night. Becca's never complained anyway, and he'd found that despite how awkward it made him feel sometimes, he actually enjoyed it. It was something even he could do, something he could do for her that made her happy, that made the sting of losing her mom lessen a bit.

He hates that she's hurting, that he can't do much more than this, but you can't control what life throws at you, you can only duck or hit back. And neither of them have the energy or focus to hit back right now.

So he reads to her. Plays dolls with her. Makes Max sit down to have a pretend tea parties with her. Anything to make this easier, to make her smile. Because he loves her and that's all he wants.

For her to smile and be happy.

He just wonders how long they'll make it before he fucks it all up.

He hears a yawn and that's a sign that she's drifting off, so he puts the book away,makes sure she's covered up, and strokes her hair a couple of times.

She looks up at him and quietly yawns out, "Night, Daddy. Love you."

Yeah. It still gets to him, that she's his, that he loves her so fiercely, because he never wanted to be a father. He didn't want the responsibility, didn't want to take a chance that he'd end up becoming Neil.

But he's not his father and never will be. The proof is softly snoring with a teddy bear under one arm.

He smiles again and whispers, "Love you too, sweetheart," then shuts the door behind him.

Part IV

#harringrove #teacher steve au #single dad billy #max is a good aunt #and annoying sister #soft billy

164 notes · View notes

anastasiaskarsgard · 5 years

Text

X marks the spot

Part 5

Mark POV

Midsummer

Warning: little bit of cussing and bullying behavior.

A/n: if you need the earlier chapters search #xmarksthespot2k19. This is the story of Mark after high school. Lots of other people from movie mentioned. Is he a good guy after all, or do old habits rear their ugly head?

I just fucked Brooke. I just fucked Brooke. Oh my fuck.

I looked down at Brooke’s peaceful face, and naked body, and could feel myself getting hard again. She’s so fucking hot. And I fucked her.

It’s not just sex tho. I’ve fucked tons of broads, but this felt different. I could lay here forever with only Brooke, and be so happy.

What the fuck am I going to do? How do I make her my girlfriend? Will she be my girlfriend? The thought of her with another guy makes me see red. I gotta make it just us.

Even when things were perfect with Lily, it was never about us; it was about everyone. The parties, the drama, going out, getting wasted, fighting and fucking, but never really about us.

At least not for me.

The only time I ever wanted to be stuck with just lily was when we were going to fuck around, but after that, we’d return to our friends. We never hung out as just the two of us. We never had conversations really, unless they were arguments.

I probably could of handled Lily better, but fuck her for real. Not only was she cheating on me, with some guy twice her age, she let him watch us fuck! Oh and let’s not forget that the guy was married AND she was friends with the family.

When Sarah sent me the text conversations between Lily and Nick, and pointed out the dates and times, I felt like I was gonna be sick. I mean she was with me most of them. All those phone calls from “her mom”, or multiple bathroom breaks were just her being a whore. I can’t believe I went down on her. I fucking hate that bitch.

I really like Brooke though. I don’t want her to know about all that bs. There’s enough bs with Sarah, I don’t want her finding shit about Lily. She already said she looked at Twitter.

I grabbed my phone and went on every account that video was posted and I deleted it. I even went through and deleted anything about it. Any comments, jokes, etc. were deleted. Just as I felt secure I’d gotten all of it, Brooke started to talk in her sleep.

“But I want berry waffles...” she mumbled. “You look like a turkey man.”

I can’t stand how fucking cute she is. I feel totally like a psycho right now, but I’m obsessed with everything about her. The way she laughs and smiles. Her long hair, long legs and cute feet. How she covers her mouth when she eats, and even how she acts when she’s drunk. And oh my fuck, the sounds she makes when I fuck her. I cannot think about that or I’m gonna have to wake her up.

Its rather funny that I’ve never really tried to keep a girl around. I usually try to get rid of them, but here I was freaking myself out over this one. I closed my eyes and finally let sleep take me, sure I’d wake up if she tried to get up. I feel so good with her in my arms. It’s been a long time since I could say, I’m happy. As I drifted off to sleep, I couldn’t stop smiling.

—————————————————-

When I woke up, it was dark, and I was alone. I leaped out of bed, threw shorts on, and went to find Brooke.

I couldn’t believe how panicked I was she had gotten away from me. I thought I would wake up when I felt her move but I must of been more tired than I thought.

I look in the bathroom, living room and kitchen but no Brooke. I feel a lump in my throat and wanna punch somebody in the face. I am not about to cry over some bitch.

But that’s just it, Brooke isn’t some bitch. I sank in my recliner and put my head in my hands. I had to get ahold of myself. I was being ridiculous.

I tried to calm myself before I walked back into my bedroom. Wow. The one time I wanted a girl to stay, she snuck out.

I missed her already. Who did she think she was? I checked my phone, and there were tons of messages from everybody under the sun. Everyone but Brooke.

Apparently there was a rager at Diamonds place. He and Bex split up, so he was trying to be straight again, which seemed pointless to me. Honestly, it made no difference to me who he fucked. I hit him up on FaceTime, and it was in full swing, so I decided to stop by to distract myself from obsessing over Brooke.

I threw on clothes and headed over to Diamonds house. There was a black Prius idling out front with no one in it, but when I walked around the front, there was an Uber sticker, so I just disregarded it and went inside.

It was packed with people, and there were several girls id gotten with before giving me the eye. Sorry ladies, not interested. My baby is probably at home taking a bath or telling her best girlfriend about me. I need to just feel confident in myself.

It’s not like she’s out partying which made me realize that I was. I will just have a beer and go home and call her. I said what’s up to a few people, and I made my way over to the bar. Then I stopped so abruptly, the kid behind me slammed into me.

”wow bro, my bad!” he exclaimed, eyes wide hoping I wasn't pissed.

”No worries player.” I said distractedly.

Brooke was standing there next to some girl I’d never seen, talking to some fucking douchebag. It took every bit of self-control I had, not to make a scene. I wanted to beat his ass, and grab her by her fucking hair and drag her out of there.

Who the fuck does she think she is? Fucks me and then sneaks out to a fucking party? I was so mad; I could barely see straight. Mad doesn’t even come close to what the fuck I’m feeling. She wants to play games? We shall see.

I spotted three girls to my right, that were pointing at me and giggling. They were not as hot as Brooke, but they'd work. I smiled, and they all laughed and whispered to one another as I walked over. Easy prey.

“Hey, I’m Mark,” I flirted, winking at them.

“We know who you are!” The short blonde one said. “I’m Tammy, and this is My cousin Kelly, and this is her exchange student Kimmy, from Japan. She wants to know how tall you are.”

“I’m 6’4.” I said standing up straight.

They all squeaked, and giggled, showering praise on me till their demeanor suddenly changed. I looked at where they were glaring and turned around to find Brooke.

“Hi, Mark. I thought you’d be too tired to come out. Who are your friends?” She asked all cutesy. I’m not gonna give in to her. She needs to be put in her fucking place. Fuck me and leave? No.

“Oh hey girls, this is one of my clients, Brooke. I just helped her with a home renovation to get her house sold. If any of you ladies need any help around the house or yard, gimme a call.” I said as flirty as I could manage and winked at them, as I breezed past Brooke, on the way to the bar. Brooke didnt follow me; she was still talking to the girls, who were now being 100 times nicer since they thought I had just blown her off. I kept track of her in the corner of my eye, and noticed she looked at me a lot. She wasn’t smooth at all.

I finished my beer, and decided to slip out and give Brooke a taste of her own medicine. As much as I wanted to guard her and hold her in my arms all night, I had to play it cool. I have never had a problem getting a girl, and I’m not starting now with the one I give a fuck about.

To be safe, I went and found the douchebag Brooke was talking to earlier. He was still standing with the same, strange girl.

“Hey bud, can I talk to you real quick?”

He looked nervously at the girl and then back to me before asking if there was a problem.

“Oh no! We’re buddies I thought, I just wanted to talk to ya about something, a lady shouldn’t hear.” I lied, winking at the girl who started blushing and looking at her feet. How does Brooke know these lame ass nerds?

“Ok, I’ll be right back, Jane. After you, my man.” He chirped.

I walked out in the garage and as soon as the door closed, I turned and grabbed the guy by his shirt, getting mere inches from his face.

“Wow, bro! What’s up I thought we were cool!” The guy said shakily, as he looked at all the exits and back to me.

“Well, that all depends on you Bro. How do you know Brooke?” I growled.

“She’s Janes friend, I could get you an introduction if you want. She’s not seeing anyone.”

I punched the wall next to the guys head, putting a hole in the drywall and shocking both of us with the sudden outburst of rage. This guy was fucking terrified, so I took it down a notch, loosened my grip and asked, “She said that?” I was trying to hide how much this revelation hurt me.

“She said she needs to drop some fuckboy that she’s getting too caught up with and needs a nice guy. I can tell her you’re nice.” He volunteered.

I released him and took a step back. So she thought I was a fucking fuckboy? But a fuckboy that she is getting caught up with... hmm. Shit, I could work with that.

“Brooke is mine, got it?”

He nodded his head overzealously. “I get it, bro, hands off.”

“I gotta leave, but I’m trusting you to make sure no dudes get too friendly with her. If you see anyone talking to her, pull them aside and let them know Mark is already in that, and I don’t fucking share. And don’t do anything stupid like tell the girls, cuz I’d like to like you, and not break your fucking face.”

“Got it! Loud and clear!” He said with his eyes wide, and sweat dripping down his forehead.

“Good. I’m leaving, but I always got eyes on so don’t fuck this up.” I patted him on the back a bit too hard and exited out the garage side door.

The Prius was still out front idling. In my younger days, I’d have jacked it and done stupid shit in it till the wheels fell off, but I was past that.

Suddenly, It occurred to me that one of the people with Brooke must be her Uber Driver. I checked to make sure no one was out front, and I walked over to the driver door took its keys. I double checked no one was paying attention and slipped the keys in my pocket, before jumping in my truck and driving off.

It only took 10 minutes for the text to come

Brooke: Wow thanks for saying goodbye asshole

Me: I didn’t think you cared

Brooke: what the fuck is that supposed to mean???

Me: well you didn’t say bye at my house, so I just thought that’s how you do things.

Brooke: I’m not going to do this with you Mark

Me: do what?

Me: hello?

Me: earth to Brooke

Me:...

Shit, I didn’t see this coming. Was she really going to ignore me? Like hell she was. I flipped my truck around and raced back to Diamonds, just in time to see Jane crying by her Prius. Brooke was comforting her and she looked so fucking hot. All my lousy mood disappeared, and now I just wanted to be her knight in shining armor.

I pulled up to them and rolled down my window.

“What’s going on guys?” I asked.

“Someone stole the keys to her car, and her spare set is all the way across town at her house, but no one is sober or willing to take her to get them.” Brooke steamed.

“Well, lucky for you, your knight in shining armor got his cigarettes and is back to drive you, ladies, wherever you need to go,” I smiled.

Brooke’s face lit up, and she led Jane in my truck bouncy and happy. They fucked with my radio, and squealed and giggled about a bunch of shit I didn’t care about, but I WAS happy she was with me and I got to be the hero. (Even though I caused the problem, and had the keys in my pocket.)

“Mark, I want to apologize to you,” Jane said out of nowhere.

“Why? you don’t live that far.”

“Actually I told Brooke to be cautious about you, because you’re a selfish womanizer, and every girl that gives you the time of day, gets her heart broken. Now maybe it’s all bad reputation, because I mean, you helped her with the house, saved her earlier today, and now you’re saving us!”

I looked at Brooke, and her eyes were wide as she turned eight shades of red. Was she embarrassed by me?

“Well I just have a bad rep, I’m not that cool. I just have made the error of trusting girls, that had their fun with me, and then told everyone about it, or even lie about it. At the end of the day though, I’m just chilling by myself.” I was really gonna lay it on thick with these two.

“I can see that now. Rumors are so unfair, and I wanna tell you to give him a chance now Brooke.” She said, taking both of Brooke’s hands in hers.

Brooke smiled at Jane. Jane was my new favorite person.

I pulled up to Janes’ and she hopped out and ran in, while we waited in the car.

“So you’re ashamed of me?” I couldn’t hold it in, I had to ask her.

She was fidgeting, and staring at her lap. I couldn’t see what was up with her face since her curtain of hair was blocking it. I waited for a response, but when nothing came, I unbuckled her seatbelt and grabbed her, pulling her onto my lap. She didn’t even try to fight me, just let me drag her over. She still wasn’t looking at me, so I tipped her chin up to meet her eyes.

“Hey,” I said.

She tried to look away, but I didn’t let her.

“If you need to take things slow and just wanna be my friend that’s ok. I am gonna be here for you, no matter what.”

“I like you too much Mark, and I’m not a fuck buddy type.”

I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. I knew Brooke was a good girl. I didn’t know what to say, so I just hugged her and kissed her hair. I didn’t think it was possible to love her more, but I felt so much for this girl right now, I thought I’d burst. She fucking liked me too.

“Thank you,” I said finally.

“For what dork?” She giggled.

“For taking me seriously. For giving me a chance to be your boyfriend.”

“ I think friendship is what we should focus on now, and maybe relationship someday.”

Although her words hurt, she was mine and if she wanted to call it friends, fine. We could label it whatever she wanted.

“Friends that maybe kiss sometimes?” I asked, gently kissing her lips and then pressing my forehead to hers.

“And other stuff,” she said as she rubbed against me. “Seems you’re kinda excited to see me.”

“Well ya, you’re on my lap. What do you expect?” I could feel myself blushing. She made me so nervous, it’s crazy. I’m not shy, but with her...

“Wanna come over to my place tonight?” She asked as she bit that damn bottom lip.

“Absolutely.”

Jane got back in the truck, “good job Brooke! I’m so happy you’re giving him a shot.”

Jane is my new best friend.

The girls sang along and had a blast on the way back to the car. I ran in and got them drinks at a convenience store, so I could throw away janes keys before Brooke finds them.

We dropped off Jane and headed to Brooke’s apartment, and I was so happy it was disgusting. In the back of my mind, there was this voice telling me I had to do whatever I had to, to keep her. She was gorgeous, and I couldn’t be the only one that noticed.

This was very confusing and stressful. I’d never fucking cared if I ever saw a girl again, so I didn’t put much thought into making them stick around. This was new for me, and to be honest, I wasn’t fucking enjoying it. Relationships, feelings, and girls are all just nightmares, but it was too late. I might even already love her, and there was no talking me out of it.

Not even when I was doing the talking.

#bill skarsgard #billy skarsgard #bill istvan günther skarsgård #fanfic #mark bill skarsgard #mark assassination nation #xmarksthespot2k19 #my writing

9 notes · View notes

vgckwb · 5 years

Text

Danganronpa: Away Chapter 3: Only Human (Part 1)

Computer Lab: The Night After the Second Class Trial

“Why does it say ‘Phase 2’?” Asked Tammy

“How am I supposed to know?” asked Monobird. “I don’t work with him.”

“I mean, I guess not” said Tammy. “Ugh.”

“It’s OK,” said Monobird. “We have Cassy and Justin. Maybe they can figure it out.”

“Yeah, but who knows how many of us will still be alive by the time that happens,” said Tammy.

“...I know it’s scary” said Monobird.

“That’ a generous way of putting it,” said Tammy.

“But we have to hold out hope that things will get better” said Monobird.

“But will things be ‘good’ ever again?” asked Tammy.

Monobird looked at her. “...that is something you have to figure out on your own.”

Tammy yawned. “I should probably go to bed.”

“Good idea” said Monobird. Tammy left. “Of course. She’s still a child. They all are. And four of them are dead already.”

Zooming in on Monobird’s eye, the scene changes to a monitor in a dimly lit room where a police officer is staring into it. He then says “...I’m probably not the first one to say this, but if I ever meet The Ultimate Killer, I’m going to make him pay.”

Meanwhile, out in the hall, Tammy yawns again. “I should have gone to bed sooner. Oh hey, there’s Justin. Why is he heading downstairs? Oh well.” Tammy went back to her room.

Earlier, in Justin’s room:

That night, I had the courtroom dream again. The smiling dream. The smile was as creepy as ever. However, I saw a table. On the table was some peculiar things. There was some broken glass, a pair of wire cutters, a pair of gloves, and a bloody knife. Again I protest in vain that I shouldn’t leave. I am being taken away anyway. I am pointing. Am I pointing at the table?

“AH!” I wake in a sweat. “Is this going to happen every time something terrible happens?” I say. I try going back to sleep, but I can’t. “Well, it worked last time,” I said. I got out of bed and I made my way to the art room. I got out some clay and made two figures, one for Troy and one for Rachel. I then went back up to my room and slept.

I wasn’t woken to the sound of Monokuma’s announcement playing, but a voice screaming in the halls. “EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY!”

Without thinking, I get up, put some pants on, and walked out to see Cassy in a panic. “What’s the matter?” I asked.

Cassy said “Well, first off, Justin isn…” Cassy stopped, as her face turned red. “Why are you here?”

“Because it’s where I sleep?” I said.

“But why aren’t you in the art room?!” she snapped back.

“I guess I had the energy to make it back” I said. “I only made two statues this time.”

“Oh… Well, there’s still the matter of Sophie.”

I was now worried “What happened?”

“She’s not in her room!”

“Well, let’s see if we can’t find her” I said.

“I already found her” said Annabelle.

“Huh?” said Cassy.

“She’s in Rachel’s room,” she said. “Sleeping like an angel.”

“Oh…” Cassy’s face grew even more red.

“I guess that makes sense,” I said. I looked at the clock and saw it was around 6 am. “How are you people awake?”

“I’m usually up early to get a head start on the day’s news” said Annabelle.

“And I like to wake up this early just because” said Cassy.

“Well, you do you, I guess” I said. “But since there’s no emergency, I’m going back to sleep.” I returned to my room and passed out.

I woke up to the morning announcement. “Ugh, I’m going to be so tired today.” I got out of bed and got ready for going out. I made my way to the dining area. Everyone was silent. What happened yesterday was horrific to say the least, so I wasn’t surprised.

What I was surprised with was who broke the silence. “So, um, do we have any ideas on how to get out?” Sophie asked. We all looked at her. “It’s just, we kind of discuss these things…”

“No, she’s right,” said Duke. “We can’t keep feeling so down that we don’t find a way out. So let’s spitball here. I’m thinking of making a chemical compound that we serve to Monokuma. It will short circuit him, and hopefully the whole system where we could just walk out.”

“Well, he’s not going to accept it now, dumbass” said Buck.

“Oh, yeah, that’s a good point,” said Duke.

“Do you think that dowsing Monokuma counts as attacking him?” asked May.

“Well, if it is, then let me do it,” said Jay. “I may have the best chance of being gunned down by those security cams. Besides, since I’ve lost Troy already, I’ve got nothing left to lose.”

Right, Jay is also hurting as well.

“Do you idiots actually think that would work?” said Monokuma, popping up again.

“Oh, what do you want?” asked Andy.

“Wow. Blunt” said Monokuma.

“Well, I’m sorry I don’t have candor when talking to a psychopath who has killed four of my friends in the past week,” said Andy.

Wow, he's not taking any shit.

“Technically, I’ve only killed two of them,” said Monokuma.

“No, you killed four” said Andy. “I don’t care if someone else killed Maria, or Troy, you are the reason they are dead.”

“Am I?” asked Monokuma. “I just laid the groundwork. You all said you wouldn't do it. And yet two of you did do it. Maybe because you freaks are selfish, greedy monsters who care only about themselves.”

“Well, if we’re going to start insulting each other like children,” said May, “I’m rubber, you’re glue. Everything you say bounces off of me, and sticks to you.”

“Cute” said Monokuma.

Freaks? That’s new.

“Why are you here?” asked Cassy.

“Ah yes” said Monokuma. “I have finally finished reservations on the first floor. I would like you to come and see what is in store for you. Your killing possibilities will go way up.”

We all walked out to the first floor wall. “Are you ready?” Monokuma asked. He put a key in the lock and unveiled what remains of the first floor.

“Wow” I said.

“Thank you,” said Monokuma. “Finally, someone appreciates my work.”

“Are you telling me you built all this?” I asked. “We you the Ultimate Architect and you hated it?”

“What, NO!” aid Monokuma. “I renovated this place.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t build it.” I said.

“IT STILL COUNTS!” screamed Monokuma.

“Whatever” I said. “Let’s just look around.”

There were a few new rooms to explore. I began with the big room on the left. It was a science room. In there I saw Duke pouting. “If only this room was open last time…” he said. “Troy might still be alive.”

“Um, are you OK?” I asked.

“GAH!” said Duke. “Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

“I was in front of you the whole time…” I said.

“Well, I didn’t see you” said Duke. “Although I was lost in thought. Whatever. What do you want?”

“Well, what do you make of this room?” I asked.

“What do I think? It’s a science room. It’s glorious” said Duke. “Man, if this room was available earlier, my plan of drugging someone with a chemical that gives the illusion of death and then leave.”

“Oh...”

“Do you think he did this on purpose?” Duke asked.

“Well, if I’m being honest, no” said Monokuma, showing up again. “Although, I’m glad it worked out that way. Otherwise my plan would stop working.”

“You know, for someone who fancies themselves as ‘The Ultimate Killer’, relying on luck doesn’t seem to suggest that you are the best at killing” said Duke.

“Well, remember, he wasn’t actually ‘The Ultimate Killer’,” I said, “he was something else that he hated so much that he resorted to killing.”

“Maybe he should have stuck to that and not half ass this whole killing thing” said Duke.

“You know I can hear you” said Monokuma.

“Whether or not you are actually here, you can hear us,” I said. “It still doesn’t change the fact that this part of your plan was half baked.”

“Well, I’m still a successful killer, aren’t I?” said Monokuma. “I planned everything methodically.”

“Not so methodically that the police interrupted your plan by bringing us here instead of going to actual Hope’s Peak” said Duke.

“Yeah, which you yourself alerted the police that you were doing this,” I reminded him.

“Well, I’m still getting results” said Monokuma. “And RESULTS are all that matter to you Ultimates, now aren’t they?”

I interjected “Actually, my grandpa always said ‘a true Ultimate is not measured by results, but by action.’”

“Yeah, well he’s DEAD!” screamed Monokuma and he pounded his fist on one of the tables, collapsing it. There was a hum coming from Monokuma and then his head popped up. “Oh, I’m sorry, I'm not always in control of my actions,” he said.

He started to fix the table he just destroyed. “What do you mean by that?” I asked.

“Oh…um...well…” said Monokuma. “Fine. I was told not to tell you this, but sometimes the Ultimate Killer controls me. However, I have an override feature when things get too heated.”

“Like, he talks for you?” asked Duke.

“Talks, moves, everything” said Monokuma. “Although, 95% of the time, it’s lovable old me in here.”

“You’re not much better” I said.

“Aww, why do you say that?” said Monokuma.

“Cause you still want us dead” I answered.

“Oh, yeah. That thing” Monokuma said. “Well, like I said, I’m a tool. In use by the Ultimate Killer. I don’t really have control over that.”

“So, you're saying that if we met in different circumstances, we could be friends?” asked Duke.

“Well, no, I was built to kill” replied Monokuma. “Unless you’d be fine with me killing other people.” We both stared at him not amused. “OK, fine, I get it. You guys don’t like killing. Anyway, your stupid table is fixed.”

“Is the Ultimate Killer going to be mad that you told us this?” I asked.

“Eh, he’s told you more revealing stuff” said Monokuma. “What’s the worst that could happen? Anyway, seeya.” He left.

“Well...that was something” said Duke. “I think I’ll take a look around here some more. You know, see what I can gather from this.”

“OK then” I said. I looked around and saw that Tammy was also in here. “Oh, uh hi” I said, nervously. “You saw that, right?” She nodded. “Um, are you alright?”

“Um...maybe…”

Translation: No. “Um, do you have anything you want to say?” I asked in a calming voice.

“Well...I do, but I also want to share it with Cassy. Can you bring her back here so we can talk?”

“Sure” I said. I left to see where everyone else was. I entered the room across the hall. I was surprised to see it was essentially a weapons room. “It’s just one surprised after another.”

“Oh, hey Justin” said Pierce. “You don’t look great.”

“Yeah, I didn’t sleep well, and Monokuma just exploded on me” I said.

“Oh? What happened?” Pierce asked.

“Well, he showed up while Duke and I were talking. So, we decided to get under his skin” I began.

“Like you do.”

“So, we may have pushed him a bit too far and he smashed a table.”

“Oh, that’s...not great.”

“Yeah, but then he told us that the Ultimate Killer himself was controlling him at the time.”

“So, the Ultimate Killer can control Monokuma sometimes then, eh?” said Pierce.

“Apparently” I said. “So, what did you find out about this room? Why is there an armory in here?”

“We’re not sure” said Jay.

“We think this was an indoor target range, but there appears to be no targets” said Andy.

“...Were you two in here this whole time?” I asked.

“Yeah” said Jay.

“...Man, I’m tired” I said.

“So, former target practice area then?” Pierce asked.

“Well, based on all of this room back here with nothing in it” said Andy.

“And the fact that all of these weapons can be fired or thrown” said Jay. “Like guns, arrows, spears, axes, they even have slingshots.”

“And I assume that all of these weapons were provided by the Ultimate Killer themselves” I said.

“Probably” said Andy.

“Great, just what we need: MORE tools to kill each other with” I said.

“Exactly” said Monokuma, popping up again. “Oh, you were being sarcastic.”

“Of course I was” I said.

“So, who’s in there now?” asked Pierce.

“Why, it’s ME! Monokuma” said Monokuma. “The Ultimate Killer will continue to be locked out of direct control for another 47 minutes.”

“I see,” said Pierce.

“Can you just go now?” I asked. “I’m too tired for this.”

“Sure, but how did you expect school would go?” asked Monokuma. “You gotta wake up early.”

“That fact that you treat this like school still amazes me,” I said.

“Yeah, but you’d still have to wake up early even if we were going to actual school” said Jay.

“Hope’s Peak is open ended” I told him. “I wouldn’t have to wake up before noon.”

“Yeah, it isn’t” said Andy.

“How would you know?” I asked.

“Because I’m the Ultimate Trivia Master” said Andy. “I look these things up all the time.”

“...Motherfucker” I said, under my breath.

“Well, anyway, it seems like I’m not needed here anymore” said Monokuma.

“You’re ever needed” said Jay.

“Toodleoo” Monokuma said, disappearing again.

“I swear, every time I think ‘this isn't too bad’, he shows up,” I said.

Pierce said “I would say ‘it could always be worse’, but I don’t think it can get much worse at this point.”

“Well, assuming we can get out at this point, losing only a quarter of the people we came in with wouldn’t be the WORST hostage situation” said Andy.

“It’s still not great,” said Jay.

“I know” said Andy.

I left to see what was down the hall. The hall was filled with a bunch of loose stuff that assume would go to the gym. “Why is all of this here?” I asked myself.

“To explain” said Monokuma, showing up again.

“GAH!” I said.

“You see, not everything we wanted to bring for the gym could fit reasonably in the storage room of the gym” Monokuma explained. “We have a tendency to overpack, you see. So, we just left it in this hall. It’s close enough to other exercise equipment anyway, so we figured ‘what the heck?’”

“Please stop saying ‘we’” I said. “I get that you want to distinguish yourself from the Ultimate Killer, but it’s kind of creeping me out.”

“Yeah, I see your point” said Monokuma. “Besides, that sounds like something some other villain would do. I need to be original.”

“You know what would be original for a villain? Letting us go” I said.

“Are you kidding?” said Monokuma. “The face-turn is done by plenty of villains.”

“Yeah, but all of those villains were sympathetic” I told him. “You’d still retain your whole unlikable charm while doing the right thing.”

“Hmmmm. As tempting as that sounds, I find it more fun to just watch you all die one by one” said Monokuma.

“Well, I tried” I said.

“And an Ultimate is measured by their actions” said Monokuma. “That’s what you said, right?”

“...Yeah, but how did you know?” I asked.

“Just because I’m not in control, doesn’t mean I can’t hear” said Monokuma.

“Duly noted” I said. Monokuma left.

I went to the end of the hall and I found two rooms. One labeled “Girl’s Locker Room” and one labeled “Boy’s Locker Room.” I went in the Boy’s locker room and had a look around. I saw that each of us had a locker designated to us. I opened mine up to find a swimsuit. Not just any swimsuit though; My favorite swimsuit. Red with a black stripe on each side. “OK, THAT’S creepy.” I saw a sign that said “No casual clothes or Monopads in the pool area. Also, everyone has to shower before entering the pool area.”

“Guess I have no choice,” I said. I put them on and continued. I found the showers and used them. I went further and there was a door. I opened it and I found the pool area. “”Bout time you showed up,” said Buck. It was weird to see him without his sunglasses. His swim trunks were green with outlines of basketballs on them “I was worried you’d never show up.”

“Why did I need to show up?” I asked.

“We need a ref” he told me. “And you’re it.”

“Ref? For what?” I asked.

“Water basketball” Buck said, like that was totally a normal thing.

“Water basketball?” I said.

“Look, I know it’s odd, but it’s fun,” said Buck. “And I knew you’d stop by eventually, and I don’t want you to be sore in the morning, so I volunteered you to be the ref.”

“Umm, thanks?” I said.

“Great” said Buck. “Follow me.” I followed him to one of the pools. It was then I noticed how large the pool area was. There were two water slides, a lap pool with 12 lanes, a hot tube, a sauna, and like three other pools. It could be so easy to get lost in here. “Hey, he’s here.”

“Great!” said May. “Let’s get started.”

I only saw May, whose swimsuit was a red and orange two-piece, where the top looked like a sports bra and the bottom was shorts, Annabelle, whose swimsuit was an aquamarine one-piece, and Elliot, whose swimsuit was a pure white two-piece. “Where are Sophie and Cassy?” I asked.

“Sophie is in the sauna” said Annabelle. “As for Cassy, well…”

“She’s investigating the area, so she couldn’t be our ref” said Elliot.

“I see…” I said. I might as well see what this is about. If Cassy finds anything she’ll tell us. “Well, OK then, let’s get started. What are the rules?”

“Just like regular basketball, but in the water, so we don’t need to worry about dribbling” said Buck. “Also, I added some house rules.”

“Why’s that?” I asked.

“Because Buck here is the only one who’s played water basketball,” said May. “He has an unfair advantage.”

“That, and it’s just the four of us playing” said Elliot.

“So, I’m on Buck’s team to even things out,” said Annabelle. “I’m not that athletic, but I can do some things.”

“Basically, the two rules in play is that the ball has to at least be passed once, and a team can’t score over 10 points without both players at least scoring once” said Buck.

“OK. Sounds fair enough” I said. “And how long are we playing?”

“I was thinking just 30 minutes,” said Buck.

“Seems reasonable” I said. “OK, then, let’s begin!”

They got into position. I started the clock and they went for it. Water basketball is actually really engaging. The water adds some depth that wasn’t there before. It looks so stylish. Of course, Buck was styling all over the place and getting points left and right. But the rules were helpful. May and Elliot managed to score a fair amount of point. And even Annabelle scored some points. It was really charming. However, due to the nature of these things, Buck and Annabelle won.

“And that’s game,” said Buck. “56 to 50.”

“Hm” said Elliot. “Good game, but still.”

“Yeah, THAT WAS AWESOME!” said May.

“I’m just impressed with how well I did” said Annabelle. “I’m going to see what else is here.”

“Yeah, I’ll come with you,” said Elliot.

“Well, I’m probably going to do some laps in the lap pool,” said May.

“Want to compete?” asked Buck.

“Not really” said May. “I just want to see if I can beat my personal record.��

“Fair enough. I’ll just hang out here then” said Buck.

“I should go too,” I said. “I need to find Cassy.”

“I bet you do” Buck said, suggestively.

“Seriously, why do people think we should go out?” I asked.

“Because you should” said Buck.

“Whatever” I is said. I left and decided to check on Sophie in the sauna to see how she was holding up. However, it seems I wasn’t the only one to think that, because as I went in there, not only did I find Sophie, who was wearing a green two-piece with olive green accents, I also found Cassy, who was wearing a dark purple to-piece swimsuit with a pink frilly skirt-thing on the bottom half. “Oh. Hi” I said.

“Oh hey Justin” said Sophie. “What’s up?”

“Well, I just wanted to check on you quick” I said. “You know...since yesterday…”

“Right…” said Sophie. “Well, I’ve just been thinking in here. About Rachel. And Troy. And Roman. And Maria. And I realized that what I did was wrong. Me just giving up like that some that everyone else could be safe. The Ultimate Killer has taken away so many people. Now that I see that I don’t want to be just another person he takes away, and cause harm to anyone else. I want to fight him. I want to beat him.”

She’s gone through so much, and yet on the other side she’s still standing. Rachel, if you could see this, you would be proud.

“Well, I should go, my time’s almost up,” said Sophie.

“What?” I said.

“She means in the sauna” said Cassy. “Look.” She pointed to a sign that said “CAUTION: Please do not spend more than 1 hour in the sauna.”

“I see,” I said.

“Well, see you later” said Sophie.

She left and it was just me and Cassy. “Sooooooooooo, what’s up” said Cassy.

“Well, actually, Tammy has something she needs to tell us,” I said. “But she won’t talk to me without you.”

“Why not?” asked Cassy.

“She seemed scared” I said. I explained what happened with Monokuma.

“Oh,” said Cassy. “OK then. Let’s go.” We left the sauna and went back to our respective changing rooms and met each other outside the pool area and headed towards the science room.

We met Tammy, who asked us “Why do you smell like chlorine?”

“Well, we just got out of the pool,” I said.

“There’s a pool?!” Tammy asked, excitedly.

“Tammy, what is it that you wanted to tell us?” asked Cassy.

“Oh, right. I’ll worry about the pool later” said Tammy. “Anyway, last night, after the trial, I decided to look into what Monokuma told us about those devices that would make us forget things. I looked into some of the protected file and I managed to find the device he was talking about.”

“But he never got a chance to use it,” said Cassy.

“Well, I just wanted to see what he was planning” said Tammy. “Plus it might give me insight on how some of the Ultimate Killer’s tech works so I could figure things out faster. But before I got a chance, I saw something.”

“Saw what?” I asked.

Tammy fidgeted nervously. “Well, the blueprint was labeled ‘Phase 2’” she told us.

“Wait, what does that mean?” said Cassy.

“I don’t know” Tammy said. “But maybe the Ultimate Killer already did something to us.”

“But how?” I said. “We got moved before we could enter the school.”

“Hmmmm. It's worth thinking about” said Cassy. “Thank you for finding this. Now, if you don’t mind me asking, why did you want both of us?” Cassy asked.

“Oh, um, ya see” stammered Tammy. “Ho boy, this is awkward.”

“What?” I asked.

“So, you know how my dad was arrested?” said Tammy.

“Yeah” I said.

“Well, soon after my mother became distant. She was there, but she wasn’t really there” Tammy continued.

“Go on” said Cassy.

“So, for the first time in a long time,” said Tammy, “I feel like I have parents in the two of you.”

Both mine and Cassy’s face turned beet red. “Oh,” I said.

“I know it’s stupid,” said Tammy, “but that’s just how I feel.”

“It’s OK to feel like that” said Cassy. “It’s important for people to have someone to depend on. I’m glad you can trust us.”

“Really? Thank you!” Tammy said, giving Cassy a hug. After a second of shock, Cassy hugged back. They broke the hug and Tammy said “Well, I’m going to go swimming now.” She left.

“So, what do you make of that? I asked.

“I genuinely think it’s sweet” said Cassy.

“Wha? No. About the whole memory wipe device being a ‘Phase 2’” I said.

“Oh. That” said Cassy. “Well, I might have something. But I don’t know for sure.”

“Really, what is it?” I asked.

Cassy looked at me. She told me “I’m very unconfident in this evidence as of right now. I don’t even know if it means anything yet. I’d like to wait and figure it out some more. ...If that’s alright with you.”

I sighed. “I guess do what you think is best” I told her. “But just know that two minds are better than one, and we are on a timer here. I know speed isn’t your strong suit, but the sooner the better.”

“I get you,” said Cassy. “It’s not a matter of if Monokuma gives us another motive, but when. Still though, I don’t know what to make of this evidence yet. It could be nothing even. I’d rather have you focusing on what we know for sure than something that could be nothing.”

“Understandable” I said. We just kind of hung around until dinner time. Afterwards we all met up to eat. Cassy and I explained everything we learned that day to everyone.

“Oh MAN!” said May. “That’s some heavy stuff.”

“Yeah. It’s weird enough that he’d try to wipe our memories,” said Jay, “but to know he might have done something else on top of that? That’s disturbing.”

“I agree, that shit’s wack” said Buck.

“Wait a tick, I just thought of something” said Annabelle. “If he had this all planned out, is it possible that he planned out the motives as well?”

“Well, it seems possible, yes,” said Cassy.

“So, couldn’t Tammy also find those motive plans?” Annabelle asked. “So that we can properly defend against them.”

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that” said Monokua popping out again. “The Ultimate Killer may have planned a lot, but the motives are provided by yours truly. And as such, there are no records of them, until I think of them and announce them to you.”

“So, YOU think up these motives?” I asked.

“Yes” said Monokuma.

“Do you run them by the Ultimate Killer before telling us?” I asked.

“Of course” said Monokuma. “And he OKs them all before I tell you.”

“And what if you don’t agree on the fundamental idea of a motive?” I asked.

“Just what are you getting at?” Monokuma asked, annoyed.

“Well, I just think that maybe the last motive wasn’t as pure as it was intended” I insinuated.

“Wait, what do you mean?” asked Andy.

“Yeah, what do you mean?” Monokuma said, intimidatingly.

“Well, it’s just that the night of Troy’s death, I saw someone among the police who was dressed in black from head to toe” I clarified.

“Did they have guns hidden under their petticoat?” May asked.

“I think that that was the Ultimate Killer” I said. “And he was going to kill whoever walked out into police protection.”

“Oh my,” said Monokuma. “That’s a charged accusation. Do you have any proof to back this up?”

“Well, ya see,” said Jay, “this guy is the Ultimate Killer. And he trapped us in here to kill us. So, it seems likely that he would try to kill us once we got out. So the burden of proof is on you. Now tell us, why would the Ultimate Killer NOT try to kill the children he’s been trying to kill in a horrific way.”

Monokuma looked stunned. “Oh. Well, if you put it like that…” said Monokuma.

“So, the whole last motive was a lie?” Sophie asked.

“Well, not a lie, per say said Monokuma. “It’s entirely possible to protect yourself from the Ultimate Killer, eve if he did sneak into the police vehicle you were in. Just not likely for some of you, I suppose.”

“And if Monobird were to tell us this, we’d have no reason to consider the motive anymore,” I said. “So you would have to cancel the motive.”

“Grrrrrrr” growled Monokuma. “Well, no matter. I’m already thinking up a new motive. And THIS time, there won’t be any of this roundabout, technicality stuff. I want to see you guys play the game!” Monokuma disappeared.

“Well, that was weird,” said Jay.

“What about him ISN’T weird?” said Tammy.

“Well, at least we have something to try and work with” I said. “We know that there is some friction between the Ultimate Killer and Monokuma. We just need to figure out how to take advantage of it.”

We finished eating. I was tired, so I decided to go to bed after dinner, but first, I stopped by the MonoMono Machine. I put some coins in and some interesting things came out.

The first thing of note that came out was a big book about the countries of the world. “This seems peculiar.” The next thing of note that came out was a packet of Lightning Gum. “Now that seems weird.” The final thing of note that dropped was some pool toys. “This could be cool.”

I was on my way to my room when Sophie stopped me. “Um, uh, Justin” she said.

“Yeah” I said.

“Did you make figures of Troy and, um, Rachel last night?” she asked.

“Yeah” I replied.

“Do you mind if you show them to me?” she asked.

“Oh, uh, sure,” I said. I lead her to the art room. I showed her the statues I made. “What do you think?” I asked.

“Well, they look good,” she told me. “I can tell you put your heart into it. I’m sure that if they could see it, they would love it.”

“Thank you” I said. I decided to reflect on those we lost yesterday.

Troy. A man of honor. He was always willing to help anyone. He was colorful, but that made him all the more real. He wasn’t pretending to be anything he wasn’t. I’m sure he could have been a good hero if a foul villain didn’t torture us like this.

Rachel. She was a very wonderful person. Always there, looking after Sophie. She was calm, even in the darkest of situations. She wasn’t afraid to open up when the situation called for it though. Though she can no longer look after Sophie, she trusts us to do so. And I’m not about to break that trust.

Sophie yawned. “Well, I guess I’m off to sleep,” she said.

“Are you sleeping in Rachel’s bed again?” I asked.

“Oh, so you heard about that?” she said. “I’ll be in my own bed. I just felt like I needed to do that last night.”

“I understand” I said.

“It...felt warmer,” she said. “I needed that. Well, good night.” With that, Sophie left.

I left soon after and headed to my room. I got into bed and thought about what was happening. Despite all of the death and being held against our will, we were all trying to make the best of the situation. We were all trying to find a way out and trying to have fun. We were growing as people. I guess it’s like grandpa always said: “An Ultimate isn’t measured by results, but by actions.” And it’s those actions that will ultimately take down the Ultimate Killer. I just know it. It’s not a matter of if, but when.

#danganronpa #danganronpa fanfiction #Danganronpa away #Justin #Cassy #Tammy #Duke #Jay #Andy #Pierce #Buck #May #Annabelle #Elliot #Sophie #Rachel #Troy #Roman #Maria #Monokuma #Monobird

1 note · View note

myassbrokethefall · 6 years

Text

Sure, I could/should be cleaning my house right now but instead I’ll answer 30 FREAKING QUESTIONS on Tumblr. It’s Saturday. Tagged by @swoodsie, thanks babe!

Rules: Answer 30 questions. Tag 10 blogs you want to get to know better

Nicknames: Plenty.

Gender: Female.

Height: 5 foot 0.

Sign: Virgo.

Time: 7:40 pm. Why am I eating kettle corn instead of making dinner?

(Btw, I started this earlier, when I should have been cleaning my house, and I’m finishing it now, when I should be making dinner. Ah, the computer.) (Also I updated the time.)

Favorite bands: Radiohead, Garbage, The Police, Metric.

Favorite solo artists: Fiona Apple, Regina Spektor, hmm, I’m probably not thinking of a bunch.

Song stuck in my head: Right now, Carry Me by Patty Griffin, which I was listening to in the car.

Last move I saw: The last movie I watched was my last Netflix movie, called Unmistaken Child. Last movie in the theater...MAN. I DO NOT KNOW. It might have been The Martian? Jesus. I feel like I’ve been to the movies more recently than that but I can’t remember what I would have OH YEAH, ARRIVAL. Arrival was after The Martian, right? I think that maybe was the last one. That is still forever ago.

Last show I watched: Botched, last night. Because I like only classy things. Edit: Wait, no, I watched House Hunters Renovation this morning.

When did I create my blog: July 2013, I believe.

What do I post: Mostly XF stuff, but also any other random crap that I like. A lot of animals. A lot of The Americans and other TV shows I may currently be obsessing over. Memes that make me laugh.

Last thing I googled: I’m going to be a Kate McKinnon and say I have no idea how to figure that out. I’m trying to think of something I googled recently. AND I CAN’T.

OK, ironically I just googled “how do i see what i last googled” and it took me to my Google history page, which has all the inane YouTube videos I have watched but not my search history. Maybe I turned it off in a fit of privacy. Good for me. Man, I really can’t think of anything. I’m sure I’ve googled like 20 things today alone.

Do I have any other blogs: Nope, this is plenty.

Do I get asks: Sometimes, yes.

Why did I choose my url: Because it’s a hilarious Mulderism that has always made me laugh (partly because of the delivery). Did I foresee that a convenient nickname for me would be come “myass”? No, I did not. Am I mad about that? No.

Following: 182. I thought I was following less than that. It’s quiet around here lately.

Followed by: A couple thousand-ish. Hi, many strangers. *waves nervously*

Average hours of sleep: Probably 7 or so. Actually, let me ask the Fitbit. Hmm, Fitbit won’t tell me a lifetime (of having the Fitbit) average, but recent history looks like a little over 7. Good for me.

Lucky number: 7. Haha!

Instruments: Not really. I played the piano a bit as a kid. I’ve always wanted to play the drums.

What am I wearing: A new pair of jeans that I’m hoping will stretch out just a smidge (I was wavering between them and the next size up, because I was afraid that pair would stretch out TOO much), a grey t-shirt. I’m totally about to put on pajama pants though.

Dream job: Novelist is always my answer, but if I really feel that way I should write some novels, sigh. Honestly, if I were younger, I think I would seriously consider trying to become a vet tech or in some other way work with animals. I know that’s a very Miss America kind of answer, but it’s true. That, or I would like to just lay out type all day. That’s sort of my job, sometimes, so that’s good.

Dream trip: I have so many dream trips, you guys. I’ve been lucky enough to be able to take some of them (Iceland, Sedona), but I have plenty more. Scottish highlands, Greece, Portugal (that one’s coming at the end of this summer!!), Japan, New Zealand, Faroe Islands, Switzerland, Norway.

Fav food: I have a lot. I’ll pick three: Raspberries, macaroni and cheese, halloumi. (Only two of those are cheese-based! I’m so proud of myself.) Oh, also chocolate mousse.

Nationality: American. Sorry, everyone, for, you know, everything.

Fav song: I CAN’T pick a single favorite song, geez. Often I say it’s Weird Fishes/Arpeggi by Radiohead, so let’s go with that.

Last book I read: I’m currently reading The Book Thief, which my neighbor lent me. Before that, I think it was The Tangled Lands by Paolo Baciagalupi and Tobias Buckell.

Top 3 fictional universes I want to join: I always wanted to go to Oz when I was a kid. Book Oz. I would like to have an animal daemon, so I’ll say the Golden Compass universe. And I still almost kinda believe that Star Trek will come true, so when that happens, I would be glad to chill on the Enterprise D.

#personal

8 notes · View notes

steamishot · 5 years

Text

Asia Trip Recap

I think I write this with some heaviness in my heart because I regret picking fights with him during the trip. Note to self: don’t travel with your SO when you’re PMSing!!

A few days before the trip, we met up at Wurst to plan our itinerary. I was tired from work but decided to meet up with him anyway. Again, he arrived later than he said he would and that put me in a bad mood. When I realized he was going to be late again, I almost cancelled on him and thought “maybe our relationship would be easier if it was long distance, so we won’t have to deal with these things”. During our dinner, I was annoyed because I felt he was judging me by putting extra sauce on my sausage. He made a disgusted face at it and said it tasted bad, and kept asking me why I liked it because I normally like to eat clean. I didn’t say anything that day and had the night to review what happened. I brought it up to him over text the next day saying that I felt he was being mean. He tends to bend over backwards and admits to wrongs, but i think he started feeling like he was always wrong. He tends to think “big picture” and in this fight, he understood that we were having a fight over food and that was dumb- and that he’s sorry and won’t do it again.

On the morning of our trip, he drove over to pick me up with his mom, who was going to drive the car back from the airport. They parked outside of my house, a few houses up, and my mom and grandma saw me out. Matt and his mom waved from outside of their car and I lugged my suitcase over. I was really nervous meeting his mom again. She was a part time physical therapist at the senior center I used to work at, and I remembered speaking with her a few times. The first thing she talked to me about was Cambodia… how Cambodia and China started off at similar playing fields, but that China advanced way faster. And that she really liked Cambodia. When I saw her I gave her a smile and a “hi”, but she just went for my luggage and was like let me take that. It was like a basic Asian greeting, which I am more comfortable with. So I was standing with Matt and his mom and waving bye to my mom and grandma. As were they. And it was kinda awkward because they’ve never met or knew of each other’s existence before lol. The car ride wasn’t that bad… she asked me a few questions about living in Echo Park and stuff about our trip. Me being the way I am, I said like a sentence in response to the questions and stayed quiet otherwise. I was sitting in the backseat and heard them talking about typical Asian stuff like universities, education etc. that almost put me to sleep LOL. I understood what he told me then, that his parents are pretty serious and he doesn’t joke around/laugh with them. Whereas I’m constantly joking with my parents and never really speak seriously with them. When we arrived at the airport and said our goodbyes, she told me while pointing to Matt, “he is a crazy boy”. Later on, Matt said that it was weird how his mom was fake laughing in the car and weird how she referred to him as a “crazy boy” since she’s never done so. When we boarded the airplane, I texted my mom and he texted his that we were about to fly. His mom responded additionally with “Connie is a good girl. Treat her well.” I saw the message pop up on his apple watch and he quickly swiped it away, because I think he saw my name and wasn’t sure if it was a weird message or not. But I read it quickly before he could haha. He responded with “Ok” and it made me feel good that his mom kinda accepts me.

The plane ride with ANA was great because it’s ANA and they have exceptionally good airplane food. We also got to play sexually a little on the plane so that was fun. I got mad at him again at the airport when I felt he was questioning me too much lol so that was like another hour wasted on negative energy. When we checked into our first Airbnb, it was worse than we expected… the floors were also dirty and I felt dirty laying on the bed. After I got up from the bed, I felt itchy. We were dirty as well being on the airplane/traveling for the last 15 or so hours. We ended up having sex and then showering/changing to get ready for the night. We both weren’t happy with the accommodation so we looked into other options. We went downstairs to speak with the host person, and he agreed the place wasn’t as nice as the pictures, i.e. “I admit that the pictures are professionally taken lol” lmao. So he agreed to refund us and we agreed to pay the clean up fee. I later contacted Airbnb with photos of the dirty floor and they refunded me the rest. We ended up checking into a nice hotel like 4-5 blocks away. The taxi ride there was $10! But it was wayyy more comfortable. After that experience, I was afraid the Airbnbs I chose for Korea and Taiwan weren’t going to be as good, and thought maybe doing hotels for Asia would have been a safer choice. When I came last year with my mom, there were two instances when we had to cancel our Airbnbs and stayed at hotels as well.

That night, we asked the hotel guy for recommendations. The place he recommended for izakaya was just alright… I think he recommended only like the “touristy” restaurants where they have English menus. We walked around til close to midnight and went back to sleep, so that we would be on the new timezone. The next day, we went to the Tsukiji fish market, Asakusa temple, Shibuya, standing sushi, and Kobe beef dinner. I thought the standing sushi was really fun and interesting. The other places I’ve already been to last year, so they weren’t that big of a deal to me. Tbh, the food in LA is just as good or even better than the places we had in Japan. The last (half day) we were in Japan, we had soba at a little shop outdoors that seats like 8 people max. That was one of the highlights. We also got to see the cherry blossoms… and those were beautiful. I was reminded at the garden that I’m more of a naturey/countryside person than a city person. (I enjoy the city only for food haha). Matt’s back hurt a lot the first night. I remember getting up at 5am to give him a massage. We did some yoga and I really enjoyed taking baths and using the bidets/toilets.

Going to Busan was a struggle. I didn’t know that the train to the airport only came once every half hour (instead of every 10 min or so). We were freaking out because we thought we were going to miss the plane. Once we got to the terminal, we ran and ran lol. And we literally got to the check in like 10 minutes before the window would close. After check in was another struggle, going through security. The line was longer than we thought, but we made it! We got to the gate as people were boarding. Very close call and stressful. I was so hungry on the plane that I ended up ordering instant noodles and paying for a bottle water.

It was gloomy when we reached Busan. We waited for the airport “limousine” bus to the city. There were a lot of Hong Kong people waiting around too. I started feeling sick and hot and took my sweater off on the bus. Matt said to put my sweater back on or that I will get sick. He said it’s the stress and being in a new environment that I can’t feel that I’m cold but I really am.. so I thought that was caring of him and put my sweater back on. It was my first time being in Korea. When I saw all the taxis lined up, I was reminded of the Korean dramas I used to watch. It was like K-drama coming to life for me. We stayed near the Busan station and the location was perfect. There were restaurants and coffee shops everywhere, and it was close to the station. It took a while to find the Airbnb but we were both blown away by it once we entered. Ironically, it was the cheapest Airbnb of our trip as well. The view was fantastic and everything was new. The washing machine was nice. The fridge was built into the cabinets. The A/C and heater were all new and so technologically advanced. I remember that about Busan’s airport- how advanced it was. Even though Japan is known as the city of the future, their airport was under renovation and all their workers were old and slow. The machinery they used was also kinda outdated. Not in Busan. The best thing about the Airbnb was the heated floors. I didn’t realize they were heated until I woke up in the middle of the night to go pee. The first meal we had was pork soup and rice, with sides. I really enjoyed it because it was clean and we had way too much ramen the few days before. Busan also had way less tourists than Tokyo. I felt like tourists/foreigners were everywhere we went in Tokyo. Most people knew how to speak English. In Busan, there were like no tourists around and no one spoke English. It was definitely more fun that way.

The first (and only) full day we had in Busan, I wanted to eat at a little restaurant in the train station. The food didn’t look amazing, but it was one of the few things open and the owner seemed nice and encouraged us to eat there. As we sat down, Matt said “I’d rather eat at McDonalds”, which I got angered by and started a fight by calling him judgmental. The mood was tense the first few hours, mostly on my end. And it seems our “fights” mostly revolve around him being late or something food related (wait for the last fight). I guess we learned how to work with each other. When I was living in Taiwan, and visiting Japan with my mom last year, we often just chose restaurants by random. I was down to do that this time too, but he wasn’t so much into the idea. He prefers to yelp or use Tripadvisor for the restaurants we eat at, even though he claims he “doesn’t care about food” (eyeroll). So I would get annoyed when after being on Yelp or TA for a while he still couldn’t decide on something, or when he’s looking down on his phone so much he’s missing things in action. His argument is that he wants to have a plan of action, and he wants the decision to be a good one. My argument is that you can kinda tell whether food will be good or not by looking at the menu/restaurant/food in front of you and consulting the internet isn’t always necessary.

Anyway, we went on our day as planned. The temple was okay, the beach was nice- had a Santa Monica vibe to it, but it was foggy and we couldn’t see much. The cultural district with the “slum” view was super nice. Afterwards we went to a seafood market. It was then when he realized he wasn’t as adventurous as he thought. I learned that he wasn’t as adventurous as I thought too. He really enjoys watching travel vloggers (mostly white people) so I thought he would be into trying new things/food. But sometimes I felt he was like a white guy in a Chinese guy body- minus Chinese food, he can eat that. We went into the Jalgachi market and ran into a Chinese store owner. “I’m Chinese, not Korean. I’ll give you some extra free seafood for being Chinese” he told us. So we walked around and checked out the other stalls and came back to the Chinese guy. I got to try live octopus for the first time! Years ago, I was keen on trying it in Koreatown but for some reason couldn’t find a place and gave up. I also read that there were some deaths related to eating this because the tentacles may suck on the inside of your throat, but I don’t know how true that is. It was just as I imagined it tasting. I think it’s just the novelty that is fun. It was really nice going back to the Airbnb and sleeping next to such a nice view in a nice apartment.

Learning from our previous hurdle, we got to the airport early this time. However, we faced another hurdle… I think because Korean technology is too good. They stopped my luggage because I had about 40-50 face masks and it was required that I have them in a zip lock bag. The lady was nice enough to bring two out, but I was sad when I saw that there were about 15-20 that couldn’t fit and that were would have to throw them away if I didn’t check in my luggage. Most of the face masks, I had bought from Japan to give to my mom as she requested. The others, I had bought from a Korean store thinking it was special (later on finding out that they sell them here at target!!!) I couldn’t decide on the spot, but I looked sad that I had to throw them away. Matt went ahead and checked them in for a fat fee of $50 and regretted it immediately. When we were figuring out what to do, he said it’ll cost $50 to check in. When I asked him are you sure? He said he wasn’t sure so in my head I thought maybe it’s only $25. But internally he was sure. He felt bad about that, and I venmo’d him the money immediately because it was all my stuff. We both felt bad about it. At least we got to check out a few cool lounges at the airport.

At the Taipei airport, I learned about mainland Chinese people. They do not leave gaps when waiting in lines because people will cut. That is something Matt is cognizant about. They have a different understanding of personal space and will get up all in your business. I was annoyed by them and understand what people mean when they say Chinese people are rude… but it helped me understand where Matt is coming from sometimes. They’re just blunt and to the point and it is normal for them to speak that way. Maybe I’m the more Americanized one? At our last airport stop from Taipei to Shenzhen… I got cut twice in line at the restroom because I was the only person waiting in line. Anyone coming in will go in front of me and wait right in front of the stall that has the person coming out. Culture shock: you snooze you lose.

On our train ride to the city, we were looking up things to eat, and I said something like I want to eat! And he said “again??” and I got upset at that. When we got to the Airbnb, he ate some pastry we bought but didn’t have the capacity to eat. I thought, “why are you eating a pastry when we could be eating local food. What are you doing in Asia, people come here to eat”. He also commented on the Airbnb saying, it always looks nicer in the photos- which is a valid point because I did agree it wasn’t the best, but it made me feel bad at the time. I accused him of “not letting me eat” because we ate lounge food, or pastries instead of eating local food. I guess I was just being pissy and moody and extra sensitive. We went to Taipei 101 and he had Starbucks reserve for the first time. We went to the top of the tower and got to experience the observatory. For dinner, we went to eat at a fancy hot pot place I ate at with my friends back when I studied abroad there. I didn’t expect it to be so expensive, but the bill came out to be $120. A little into the meal, he said something along the lines of “I think you don’t know what you like to eat either” and that I only chose this restaurant because my foodie friend influenced me to. I got defensive because I felt like he wasn’t listening to anything I was saying – it was true that my foodie friend reminded me of this place and that I do value his opinions, but to imply that I only wanted to come here because my friend told me to angered me. I wanted to go back to a nice place that I’ve been to 5 years before. Had I known dinner would have cost that much, I wouldn’t have gone. Anyway, we argued through dinner and I couldn’t enjoy my meal as much. We were the last ones at the restaurant and I paid for the meal because I wanted to take responsibility for the cost. We went to the nearby night market after that. Whatever we were arguing about, he wanted to look at my text messages as proof of something, but once he saw my texts, he realized he was wrong. He was annoyed at himself the rest of the night and wasn’t in a good mood. Fighting with him felt different than fighting with David. Because even though we were arguing, I felt like we were still together and that he wouldn’t leave me. He wouldn’t emotionally shut down to the point where he would ignore me or walk away. Even though we were both in a bad mood, we still stuck close (maybe because we were in a foreign land), and I still felt secure in us. We went back to the Airbnb, where he worked on some applications for residency. It was like he couldn’t concentrate… it was the first time I saw him when he needed time alone/to himself. I left him alone, and then cuddled him later in bed.

The next morning, he was acting lovey and cuddly, more so than usual. He said it was his way of saying sorry. I had more to say… and he said guys can’t win with females, because they have ammo from way back when lol. But anyway, I asked for a full apology and it was fine after that. We started our day kinda late, but it was okay because we were both already really exhausted from traveling/walking everywhere and could use the rest. We went to eat Chun Shui Tang for breakfast, which was a highlight of the trip too. Chun Shui Tang supposedly “invented” boba, but I just recently learned of it. We had beef noodle soup and fried chicken, and jasmine tea with pearl. Everything was amazing. Afterwards, we went to Yangmingshan, the national park. The first stop was really nice and pretty. We had an impromptu picnic. The second stop- the main one with the cattle and grasslands—was filled with fog, so we couldn’t see anything. After that, we went to the same night market as the night before and had a better experience. It was a holiday of some sort so there was a parade and firecrackers. We also saw gogo dancers on moving cars. The dan dan mian we had was also excellent. We waited in a semi line for this sausage rice thing at a stall which a “michellin star guide”. It was my first time having it so it was interesting- good to try but wouldn’t get again. We went back home after and considered going clubbing, but was like nah- since neither of us had clubbing appropriate shoes. We went to eat xiaolongbao instead. In hindsight, I probably focused too much on food, and we should have racked up the energy to do some nightlife lol.

Our last day, we woke up kinda late, because I felt like my period was gonna come soon and therefore I was extra tired. We got ready to check out and left our luggages at Taipei main station, where we would have to go for the airport. Right below our Airbnb is a dance studio (ballet). They had pictures of all the girls in the class on the wall, and they had one special ed/down syndrome class. Matt described it as “little girls under us” which I thought was funny and made fun of him for. When we were leaving, there was a girl with down syndrome waiting there, so that was nice to see. Very independent. Memory in Tokyo: a little girl (~5 years old) standing next to Matt on the bus, and yelling out: hey stop the bus! It��s my stop! Also another memory from Taipei going to Yangmingshan: a lady yells at the bus driver saying why didn’t he stop the bus when she pressed the button 3 stops ago! (why she didn’t voice anything until after 3 stops later, don’t ask me). We went back to Willbeck coffee shop which had this really good sesame coffee latte (something I’ll miss). Then we went to this niuroumian place in an alleyway we saw that had a long queue. We waited in line and then were guided to sit down in front of another Asian American couple. We shared a table with them and sat directly in front of them. “this is intimate,” Matt said. The girl was like where are you guys from? To start conversation. Later we found out that they are both starting residencies too- basically I had lunch with 3 doctors lol. Matt was really good at talking to them and made them laugh, and I would just say something here and there but keep quiet the rest of the time. After they left, it was interesting to hear what he said about our interaction. We both forgot their names. He said the guy is good at bringing up a topic and the girl talks about it and finishes it. He said I mainly looked down and said something every 5 minutes lol. He said I was mostly focused on the food and the others were more half and half. But he admitted that he didn’t know what he ate afterwards. That was something I used to tell him when we first started dating, to stop talking while eating so he can taste the food.

So to the airport we went. Last stop Shenzhen for a layover before heading back to LA. When we got to the check in point, the guy nonchalantly told me: you have two problems. 1. The flight is going to be delayed so you will most likely miss your connecting flight. 2. You don’t have a Chinese visa so you might not be able to leave China. And Matt was like uhh those are pretty big problems no? So I was freaking out a little. Matt told me to relax, and that it’s coming from him (I’m usually the more relaxed one). Matt had a flight to Kunming from Shenzhen the next morning at 7am, so I thought if I missed my flight, at least we would be able to spend the night together.

So we stayed at the Taipei airport lounging for a few hours. The niuroumian they had there was actually really great. Walking into the lounge, it was like walking into a restaurant. That’s Taipei for you. Matt stuffed himself per usual and I ate a little bit. I ended up drinking like 4 glasses of red wine because I was stressed out about the flight situation. I was already pissed at Chinese people for them cutting me in line and being “rude” (culture shock), and horror stories from friends about going through China’s airport didn’t help. Matt took the subject seriously too, and told me to try to find nice looking customs people to talk to. He kept saying how Chinese people fear the government. But he also told me to relax. Drinking while watching music videos was fun. I was a little tipsy going on the flight. When we boarded the airplane, Matt noted how the airplane is part of the Boeing 737 Max line that crashed. I was like what the fuck. What else can go wrong. The flight was like 95% Chinese people with like 2 white people. We later found out that the pilot was also white (when he made the announcements). We were both like, thank goodness there are white people on this plane. I felt more safe.

Contrary to my expectations of it going to be a bad/scary experience, the Chinese people were actually really friendly and helpful. As our group of plane people entered the airport, there were two girls who shouted “who’s going to Kunming tomorrow morning?” so they had a plan of action for Matt already, who they were going to hook up with a hotel for the night. They also knew about me who had a connecting flight. They helped me get a temporary visa and I went through the airport no problem. They told me to hurry up and check in upstairs and said Matt can retrieve my luggage and bring it up to me later.

Takeaways from the trip:

He mentioned how I do stuff he doesn’t like either but he just lets it go and doesn’t point them out. Whereas I’m nitpicky and point out the stuff I don’t like. He then feels that he’s always in the wrong/can’t do anything right. I think this was a problem in my past relationship too- my perfectionism. One thing he said that stood out was that I hold him to a really high standard. And it’s true. He says I respect my friends more than I do him. That if my friends act a certain way, I can always justify it and I’ll be on their side. But I have trouble doing that for him. Which is another thing I think is true in relationships too. Because I don’t see my friends as often, or their lifestyle/decisions don’t affect mine as much, I can easily be more supportive. I can let things go more easily because we aren’t as very intimate. That’s something I will work on doing.

And our pride- we both want to be right, but in reality, we are both right to an extent. Towards the end of the trip, I realized that what he says is right too, and it seemed he realized what I mean as well. We are both stubborn and forget to be kind over being right.

Anyway, this trip was stressful, the way it was planned wasn’t the best. We only had one full day in each city and maybe at least 30% of the trip itself was traveling/going to and from airports. That put pressure on that one full day being going well. Since I’ve been to Tokyo and Taipei before, I didn’t experience that many new things, so I do want to go somewhere new next time. And that was also my bad, because I wasn’t as open minded to the other countries and I thought it would be nice to be with him to experience his “first” in Asia (outside of China).

They say traveling with someone is like getting a taste of what it’s like being married to them. Even though we got on each other’s nerves and traveling was a struggle at times, we’re still there for each other at the end of the day. I hope, at least. Saying bye to him in China was sad, as he is staying in Asia for an additional 11 days while I’m back in LA. It was hard going from sleeping together for 6 nights straight to not, especially when struggling with jetlag- you just want some love. LDR is definitely harder when your SO is halfway around the world, and there are only a few hours in a day when your times match up. It’ll be hard saying bye to him when he leaves for NY. Maybe I’m needy, but it already sucks not being able to talk to him normally for 3 days now.

Before our trip ended, he kept saying “our trip is ending soon…” and he is planning out the remaining weekends he has with me. He wanted to do Seattle the weekend he gets back, but I said it was too rushed and that he will be jetlagged. So it made me sad that after he leaves for NY, our relationship will never be the same. Because I’m certain his workload will be very hectic and it will remain hectic for at least 3+ years. And that made me realize I really don’t treat him with the same respect as I did when we first started going out. That I’m becoming “comfortable” with him/taking him for granted. So I’ll just be mindful of that in the future. To remind myself to think big picture instead of narrowing down on details.

0 notes

punkscowardschampions · 5 years

Text

Grace & Janis

Little Twin Times

Grace: It's not too late to change your mind! Get dad to bring you xxx Grace: 👍💜💭 Janis: Nah, you're all good, I'm going out to play footie with lads from down the road after tea Janis: You having fun? Grace: 😮😈 WHICH LADS??! Grace: of course! it's the best! 🙌 Name a film and we've got it ready to watch Grace: her mum ordered from the posh bakery too Grace: They've got each of our names iced on so you've gotta come Janis: You know, they live in the farmhouse one along if you keep going down the lane, renovated all fancy, like but they're actually alright Janis: shit at football though 😉 Janis: s'alright, you eat mine Janis: think they use too much cream, s'not as good as Da's stuff Janis: got any horrors? Grace: EW JANIS THOSE BOYS ARE GROSS DON'T PLAY WITH THEM Grace: they always shout stuff at us they think they're so 💪😎 Grace: You always say that! You'd eat custard tarts every day and never try anything new ever! Grace: 🙄 Grace: OBVIOUSLY WE'RE NOT AMATEURS Grace: the cinema room has everything it's like being out at the poshest one you can imagine 😍 Janis: Only 'cos you act like such a drip whenever you see a boy Janis: If you shouted back instead of going all giggly and red maybe they'd not take the piss, ey? 🙄 Janis: I would if I was faced with all that pastry and cream...tastes like fusty old tissue paper 🤢 Janis: At least that'll be a laugh then Janis: Her house smells like an old lady's handbag though 😂 Grace: OMG I DO NOT! Grace: what would you know anyway you're too busy trying to BE like a gross boy to get a boyfriend Grace: such a 👽 weirdo for a sister, how and why Grace: AGAIN DUH! It is such a laugh and you're missing it Grace: for football 🙄 Grace: RUDE JAN-JAN IT DOES NOT Grace: you're just jealous of how cool her house is Janis: Yes you do, you all just nudge each other and laugh like a bunch of loonies Janis: LOL and what would you do with a boyfriend, gracie? you can't even talk to one nevermind anything else Janis: for you, maybe, i'm good where i am tah 👌 Janis: why would i be jealous of having a too large tv in a too small room and calling it a cinema Janis: they ain't even got that much money, we've probably got more, they're just snobby twats about it Janis: how cool, so cool, woooow Grace: DO NOT Grace: I can't believe you've already forgotten that Jake and two of his friends are all fighting over who gets to be my boyfriend rn so Grace: I'm gonna be a great girlfriend like in all the films excuse you Grace: ugh you're the snobby one thinking we're richer than everyone and talking about how much money everyone's got all the time Grace: what am I gonna do with you? 🙄 Janis: how buzzin you must be Janis: doesn't mean you'll know what to do Janis: s'the stuff that happens after the happily ever after you need to know, graciekins Janis: only cos she's a show-off when she's got no right to Janis: always bragging that one Janis: you just don't like it 'cos you're up her hole, like 😂 Grace: I will too! I've practiced kissing loads Grace: Just because you don't have a clue don't tell me I don't Grace: You're the showoff always trying to beat the boys ugh Grace: just brush your hair, put some gloss on and come over Grace: you'll see she is cool and you're just being salty as usual Janis: yeah, we've seen the gloss on the oranges, its manky Janis: at least eat them when you've frenched them Janis: there's no trying involved, i'm just better than all the boys 😏 Janis: no thanks, i've got plans, like i said Janis: if she's so cool why you ignoring her rn hmm Grace: YOU'RE MANKY I don't even use 🍊 thanks Grace: You think as much of yourself as the boys do it's cringey Grace: and im not even ignoring her she's setting the spa up Grace: nobody's allowed to see what's she's done until she's done it so you're wrong again there Janis: Well all the others have got fellas rn or experience under their belt so don't think they're still getting in 'practice' like its a shitty teen movie 😂 Busted Janis: soz, I'll develop an eating disorder and self-esteem issues asap Janis: oh wait, no, fuck that i'm great Janis: don't hate cos u ain't Janis: better get ur surprised face ready now, you're a shitty actress, like LiLo bad post-all the drugs Grace: It's likely you, J, you've gotten really embarrassing lately 😂 make sense why you don't wanna come out. gotta stay in with the fruit bowl Grace: Don't even joke Kirsty Dixon from number 22 had to go to the hospital loads in the summer it's so serious Grace: you're the hater on me and my friends, read the chat back if you don't believe Janis: Whatever you say, Graciepoo Janis: So? She's still a lame bitch Janis: or you gonna be her best friend now too? Janis: Last I remember, it was your pals calling her names Janis: but now she's in the hospital, you all wanna send her flowers Janis: just not chocolates, she'll be raging, like Grace: YOU'RE SO RUDE AND SOOO WRONG Grace: i know you're blinded by your jealousy but it's sad how much you have no idea what you're talking about Grace: cute but still cringey of course Janis: lol jealous of what? Grace: me having friends and you being the lone loser Janis: 😂 no Janis: firstly, your 'friends', you can keep 'em, there's a reason they were free to let you tag along and be their bitch Janis: secondly, i'm happy being alone, you're the one begging me to come hang, so nice one there 👍 Grace: I'M TRYING TO BE NICE Grace: won't next time, bitch Janis: please don't 😂 Grace: laugh it up all you want you were the one tagging along with us for ages Grace: you're not too good, you're too much of a freak now that's all Janis: yeah because wittle baby gracie doesn't want to do anything on her own Janis: don't cry about it now 😂 Grace: no i didnt want my sister to be an antisocial weirdo Grace: makes me look bad too Janis: Literally going out after tea, did you not hear? Janis: You wanna control WHO I'm friends with Janis: I've got friends, I don't want your hand-me-downs Grace: those creepy boys who want to look at you in your shorts aren't your friends saddo Janis: Your mind, Gracie 🙄 Honestly Janis: lads don't care about things like that, they wanna play footie Janis: and I have plenty of other people I hang with, not everyone wants to be in a sad lil gang Grace: now who's being a baby 😂 lads always think about stuff like that Grace: 🙄 you only think its a gang because you've made yourself unwanted Grace: whatever Jan-Jan i've got fun to have Grace: be boring Janis: They really don't, they think you're mental Janis: also a right slag 😂 Janis: sure you do 😏 laters! Grace: at least they think of me you're furniture Grace: I've got plenty of time and chances to change their mind but you're always gonna be blah Janis: lol yeah, so much chance, when i'm the one that gets to chat with them every day on the pitch and you just stand there staring and dribbling, not the ball, like 😂 Grace: 🙄 so jealous at least they know me and my friends are interested they all think you play for the other team Janis: so? I'm not the slag, I'm NOT interested Janis: how lame Grace: i'm no slag either Grace: you're just being too judgey and weird to know the difference Janis: whatever you say 👌 not me you've gotta convince otherwise, is it Grace: thank god for that 😂 Janis: eurgh don't be disgusting Janis: now who's the freak Grace: EWW THAT'S YOUR MIND I MEANT YOU'VE BEEN HIT IN THE HEAD BY THE BALL TOO MANY TIMES TO HAVE A CLUE ABOUT ANYTHING Grace: 👽 Grace: so gross Janis: no you didn't Janis: you're a shit liar Janis: why would you even say something like that Janis: you're messed up, grace Grace: WHY WOULD YOU WEIRDO Janis: I didn't Janis: you're always like this Janis: you're so fucking creepy Grace: I am not Grace: you're the gross creep Janis: get your own comebacks Janis: this is why i don't want to hang with you Janis: you're so boring Grace: get a life and stop being so disgusting all the time Grace: it's not cool its just gross Janis: I've got one Janis: and it isn't yours to ruin with your lameness Janis: ✌ Grace: I can't ruin what doesn't exist Grace: can't compete with how much of a loser you are anyway Janis: stop trying then Janis: weirdo 😂 Grace: 🙄 pathetic Janis: Oh, FYI, you forgot your jammies Janis: Rio's dropping them in so you better run unless you want her to come in and show you up for being a fake little bitch Grace: No I didn't we've all got matching here already Grace: I'm doing fine get over it Janis: That's literally the most hilarious thing I've ever heard Janis: Hope you're snapping pictures so we've all got something to laugh at Janis: 'Course you are, remember to let Jake know the # Janis: so sexy 😂 Grace: You're so obsessed it's embarrassing Grace: leave me alone Janis: I'll remember that when you're pestering me later Janis: Thanks for putting in writing Grace: Don't flatter yourself that I care Janis: So blatant Janis: N'awwwwh Grace: so annoying 🙄 Grace: go away Janis: go soak your manky feet Grace: go lose on the pitch you try hard bitch Janis: me? LOL ok Janis: trying so hard to be white and likable Janis: of which, you are neither Grace: Plenty of people like me as I am thanks Janis: oh, and who are you today? 😂 Janis: you haven't got a clue Janis: faker than your brands Grace: and you do? 😂 trying so hard to be a badass all of a sudden Grace: everyone's laughing at you Grace: not me Janis: By everyone you mean your sad little friends Janis: who no one but you gives a shit about Janis: be more mad 'cos I've ditched you FINALLY Janis: and I can actually enjoy myself Grace: go and do it then Grace: you'd have to stop talking rubbish at me first Janis: do you see me there rn? Janis: I already am Janis: laughing at you takes no time outta my day Grace: 😂 Grace: like i said, obsessed Grace: nothing better to do than be this lame Janis: like i said, bad actress Janis: i still, unfortunately, have to share a room with you, remember? i've heard you crying Janis: 😂 Grace: not everything is about you Grace: nothing is pretty much Janis: Why'd you go crying to mum about me then Janis: Now I've gotta be nicer to you Janis: What a drag Grace: you're a drag Grace: and a worse actress than you think i am Janis: I'm not pretending otherwise Janis: Its impossible to be nice to you, faking it or otherwise Grace: can't be harder than dealing with being around you Grace: too cringey for words Janis: Aww Jan-Jan please come Janis: PLEEEEEEEEEEASE ITS SO MUCH FUN Janis: now that's cringe Janis: 👍💜💭 Grace: not sorry for trying to get you to keep your invite Grace: you said you'd come and the girls were expecting you Grace: some of them wanted you to be there, because they feel sorry for you or whatever Janis: I don't recall that coming from my mouth Janis: more like YOU said I would Janis: boohoo Janis: the ONLY person who gives a shit is you Grace: blah Grace: bored of you thinking you know everything about me Grace: if you don't care then leave me alone like I already told you to do Janis: how could i not? EVERYONE knows you, right gracie? Janis: ur as transparent as a window and as shallow as a puddle Janis: doesn't take a genius babe 😂 Janis: i'm having fun, fuck off yourself if you can't deal Grace: 😂😂😂 Grace: your definition of fun is so sad Grace: I'm off to have some for real Grace: bye Janis: enjoy your spa and matching jimmies Janis: you wild one 😂

0 notes

meetmebehindthemallswift · 5 years

Text

Lover tracklist!

Ok I didn’t want to post any Kaylor stuff on my page because while I am a full blown Kaylor theorist, I want to respect Taylor and I wouldn’t want her to be upset by any Kaylor stuff.

But at the same time, she encourages us to have theories and I think she’d tell us to stop if it bugged her.

Anyway, I’ve got theories about the track names and they fully revolve around KK. Considering Taylor knows about Kaylor and there’s a track named “I Think He Knows” so its like she’s asking us to Kaylorize.

Anyway here goes:

I forgot that you existed - a falling out between KK and TS. “I forgot that you existed” is only something you say when you’re mad and throwing serious shade.

Cruel summer - possibly a summer following the falling out, maybe summer 2018 when Taylor was bearding with Joe and Karlie was getting prepared for her fall 2018 wedding.

Lover - perhaps the two becoming reunited. Whole Taylor references 3 summers, we know this song was written before summer 2019, and since Taylor and Karlie have been friends since 2012 they easily have had three summers together as best friends, or more.

The Man - is it Josh, is it Joe, is it Karlie, Taylor herself, Scooter, is metaphorical like the patriarchy? I’m leaning towards being about Taylor fighting the patriarchy but we shall see. The placement of it between the archer and lover doesn’t fit with that for me. It would make more sense for the man to be someone in the way of the relationship, unless, that someone is society?

The Archer - seems to be about aiming for the love of different people and having different people come after you in that way. “Combat, I’m ready for combat” I think relates to coming out and dealing with the potential consequences. Remember, it’s 2019, we’re all woke, we accept her, but her original fan base was country. Will Nashville accept her? I don’t know what it’s like to come out but I am sure it’s not easy, especially so publically.

I think he knows - WHO. WHAT?! Is it Joe knows he’s a beard 😬 or Josh knows about Kaylor?

Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince - idk. Sis got me on this one. BUT Taylor is the “American Queen” so she’s clearly Miss Americana. The heartbreak prince could be any one of the aforementioned characters in her story or a new character entirely.

Paper Rings - secret marriage? Fake marriage?

Cornelia Street - this is more details about “our place” as we know KK has a place on Cornelia street and Taylor stayed at an apartment in Cornia street when her penthouse was being renovated. Cornelia street is Taylor and her lovers hideout. Where they spend time without the pressure or being caught together.

Death by a thousand cuts - fear of consequences of being out? Just generally about being in the public eye and the constant negative comments?

London Boy - we know who this is. We don’t know if this is a beard song, an admission that it’s not real, or a title just to throw us off

Soon You’ll Get Better - this features the Dixie chicks they were also cancelled so I think this song will be about cancel culture

False god - well on the theme of social media, cancel culture, etc, this could be about hero and celebrity worship and that it goes too far (as I write this) but also, we should note that yeezy aka Kanye gets his nickname from yeezus, like Jesus, aka god so more Kanye stuff or have we moved on (no)

YNTCD - it’s so freaking good I can’t handle it. “Shade never made anybody less gay” 😎🏳️‍🌈

Afterglow - recovery after coming out or after dealing with social media drama and public pressure

Me! - “I promise that you’ll find another like me”

It’s nice to have a friend - her lover is her friend so I think this will have call it what you want vibes about the lover and their friendship

Daylight - idk but it’s gonna be great. I think it’ll be a continuation of Lover and New Year’s Day

I may need to think on this some more and come back. On the one hand the album is called “lover” so I think maybe there are more songs more explicatly about the lover, but TS has been much more politically active than ever so I do feel like it makes sense that there would be a lot of songs that reference this and social media drama.

Tell me if I’m on the right track, need some amendments, or what. We have a log of clues already so I think we can crack a lot of this.

#kaylor #taylor swift #lover #ts7

0 notes

billydmacklin · 6 years

Text

The Laundry Room, 2018 Edition!

At some point in the past couple of years, I got a little…stuck with my own house. I know for a lot of people this feeling might not be especially out of the ordinary, but to me it was novel. The house itself was going through a decidedly “rough patch” in the course of this whole renovation/restoration madness, and to some extent my mental health followed suit. My ability to make decisions and actionable plans seemed to evaporate, which of course made everything feel worse. I’m not sure if I was looking for answers, or trying to remind myself that beautiful things do, in fact, still exist, or just to try to un-block something in my brain, but I found myself looking more and more to visual inspiration.

I’ve had the inkling for a very long time that too much “inspiration” can actually produce the opposite result. I’ve seen this with various clients over the years—they’ll send me a Pinterest board they’ve assembled over some time for a given project, hoping that each image might in some way be represented in the final product. The trouble is that most people aren’t only attracted to one particular aesthetic: they’re attracted to lots of them. It’s much easier to recognize what we think is beautiful than it is to create it. So then, armed with too much inspiration, we try to devise a way to incorporate all these things into a given space, which is usually not possible. Or at least not possible if the goal is to produce a beautiful result. So then we have to start making sacrifices, but now we’ve fallen in love with all of these disjointed elements, all generally done by other people who are really good at this and have lots of money, and we don’t feel confident in making those calls, or even know which calls we have to make, and then we’re paralyzed.

Then, seeking clarity, we bury ourselves in more “inspiration,” as though the image that will make all of this come together could be just the next click away. This, of course, is not especially productive, but it feels like it is.

Being somewhat aware of this, I’ve never used Pinterest except when a client gig required me to. This seemed like a good way to avoid this issue for myself, but I think I failed to appreciate the extent to which the Pinterest mentality has really permeated so many other spaces. The Inspiration Overload is everywhere—Instagram, Facebook, other blogs—and this crept up on me a bit. Soon all of my own work felt so small and shitty and lame, and making simple decisions became an extended exercise in self-doubt and insecurity. Each project in my house became an opportunity to create something amazinggggg but then only if I could remove the very real limitations of time and budget. When it came to my laundry room, I got so caught up in all these things I could see doing: beautiful and spacious custom built-in storage, a sink-to-end-all-sinks, a gorgeous tiled floor, and of course something more interesting for the walls than just painted plaster. Right? I wanted it to look fresh and original and like nothing I’d seen before, while at the same time wanting it to look just like a thousand things I’d seen and bookmarked or screen-capped or otherwise “pinned” without the benefit of organization that I suppose Pinterest provides.

Naturally, once these ideas entered my brain, it became impossible to dispense with them. The floor tile would have cost about $1,000 I didn’t have, but felt so essential to the very premise of renovating the laundry room that I couldn’t see a way around it. Since about half the room would be taken up by the machines, the sink, and storage, I thought maybe I’d compromise and save the expensive tile for the visible part of the floor, but then I’d need the sink and attending cabinetry to be installed first, which of course would mean buying or making those, which I also didn’t have the time/money for. I also really wanted to get the laundry done before being completely occupied with the much more involved kitchen renovation, but in order to do that I’d have to actually start working on it, which would mean finalizing these decisions, which of course I couldn’t do. This all rolled around in my mind for months while my washer and dryer sat useless in the spare room.

I guess when I started this whole renovation “journey,” I felt like the only logical path forward was escalation. Bigger projects. More advanced DIYs. An ever-expanding collection of tools and technical skills that I’d use to create the most amazing spaces I could dream of, because otherwise what’s the point? Putting this much time and effort and money into something should not yield mediocrity.

And then it hit me. It’s not the first time and won’t be the last, but I’m really trying to actively keep it in mind: Not. Everything. Has. To. Be. The. Very. Best. It. Can. Be. IT REALLY IS OK. A lot of things can be improved and changed down the line, when the time and money materializes. It doesn’t all have to happen in one take. At the end of the day, this laundry room has to accomplish one thing: wash my dirty clothes. Everything else is bonus. Also, it’s JUST A LAUNDRY ROOM.

And then something happened: I FELT SO LIBERATED. Without realizing it, and largely out of necessity, I took away the pressure of perfection and replaced it with the momentum of just GETTING IT DONE. Added to this was the challenge of doing it as inexpensively as possible, because the goal was no longer incredible beauty but instead just getting to a place of very basic functionality—and still being able to afford a kitchen stove.

And then another thing happened: in spite of my best efforts, the room actually turned out kinda cute, if you’ll permit me just a little bit of self-congratulation. Because I actually do like my stuff. I actually am generally happy with the decisions I make about my own living space. I actually am capable of making those decisions if I just lighten the fuck up a little and stop freaking out about having the coolest laundry room that my brain can conjure, and creating it in one shot.

Because only a monster would post an after image without a before, here’s the now-laundry room way back when I bought the house! It was one of the first rooms I really tackled, trying to get my renovation sea legs, and I turned it into this office:

I loved that little office, but for various reasons it eventually made way more sense to make this little space into the laundry room. It was sad for a while. Out came the desk, down came the obsolete chimney, in went new electric and plumbing, and up went new drywall and a couple fresh coats of paint annnndddddd…

Laundry room! With a utility sink! And a pink floor! I ain’t mad about it!

By the way, YES. It feels very weird/kinda embarrassing to now have “after” photos of the “after” photos from 4 years ago. I’m also 100% positive that there are those among us who will view this as a downgrade rather than an improvement, but in the context of the whole house I SWEAR this is so much better. Second floor laundry with all this natural light is such an insane luxury. My clothes are literally cleaner because I can see stains and stuff so much more easily, so my pre-treatment game is now ON POINT. I feel very on top of my laundry situation generally and it’s a great feeling.

ALSO, due to my chronic condition of over-sharing—here is the room like a day or two before I snapped the “after” photos. And honestly this is more of what I had in mind when I was all “I HAVE NO NEED FOR CUTE I ONLY NEED CLEAN UNDIES,” but then I sort of liked the additional challenge (/let’s be honest, procrastination) of trying to dress her up a little and add some storage without spending a dime. So I spent the next day just puttering around the house and hanging things up and messing around and it got kind of nice while I wasn’t looking!

Anyway. Point being, that little bit of extra effort was totally worth it and made me feel like I don’t have to really mess with this room for a long time. It also got some of my shit out of indefinite storage and put to good use!

The single biggest new purchase in this room was this cheap plastic utility sink. Various commenters were gravely concerned about this sink choice when I first mentioned it, encouraging me to go with something higher-quality/prettier/ceramic/stone/fireclay/stainless/vintage/antique BUT honestly even trolling Craigslist for some amazing $100 antique soapstone sink STILL involves trolling Craigslist, going to pick up the thing, overcoming the lurking fear of getting Craigslist-murdered, getting it home, cleaning/restoring it, getting it upstairs, probably special-ordering various parts to hook it up, maybe needing to enlist a plumber who wouldn’t show up anyway…SO WHILE I APPRECIATE ALL THE SUGGESTIONS, I am also so very happy that all I had to do was give $95 to Lowe’s and it wasn’t some whole production. When the perfect sink shows up, all the plumbing is there waiting for it.

I still spray-painted the legs black, because I can’t help myself.

Regarding the sink, it is exactly as mediocre as you might expect. It is decidedly un-fancy. It’s very lightweight and therefore doesn’t feel solid or substantial, although I did screw it right into the wall to keep it stable. It stains REALLY easily and stubbornly. It’s also HUGE and was so cheap and I LOVE IT SO MUCH, UNAPOLOGETICALLY. But like, get something nicer if you can swing it. Tell me all about it.

The plumbing under the sink isn’t so great looking either, so I spent 10 minutes making it a little modesty skirt. It’s just a tea towel folded in half with some velcro pinned to it, so it’s all easily removable and the tea towel is intact whenever I want it to be a tea towel again.

Maybe I’ll make a bunch of them so I can change the sink’s outfits seasonally. Hawt lewks for my stained plastic tub sink.

I hung up an old mirror just behind the sink to provide a little backsplash. Problem solved! I kinda love those little plastic clips that hold it up—they were a couple bucks at the hardware store but feel so 60s kitschy. Like not something you should be able to still go buy.

I put up a shelf! My pal Anna gave me like six of those IKEA brackets when she moved and they’ve just been cluttering my basement since. They were white and I spray painted them black and hung them up with some brass screws. Cute! I don’t think IKEA still makes these exact ones, but these are really similar.

The wood came off of the house at some point over the course of renovation, but I’m really struggling to remember what it did in its former life. I guess it doesn’t matter. I gave it a quick sand and a few coats of shellac and BOOM, shelf.

On the shelf is an assortment of things I have accumulated in my short but hoard-y lifetime. The yellowware bowls are antique—one holds detergent pods and the other holds those Affresh tablets that are supposed to rid the washing drum of that swamp smell in the summer. This is to prove once again that I will decant anything.

Tucked into the mirror frame are my two Laundry Idols, my mother below and my grandmother above. My grandma’s favorite task was laundry, and she passed much of her wisdom on to my mother, and I feel some grave sense of duty to, like, not ruin my clothes and bring shame on the family. So they watch over the goings-ons in this room.

I’m sorry I’m not sorry for loving that portrait but I can’t help myself. Her expression is SO GOOD. I bought her at an auction (I think I paid ten actual American greenbacks for that!), and then they told me the staining was because someone was storing her in a laundry room and she got bleach spilled on her. So it seemed right to carry on the grand tradition of this poor little old lady getting stuck in the laundry room, but maybe with a little more respect this time around.

I love my little hooks! These just came from various closets and stuff around the house, I don’t know. The long Turkish towel hides the supply lines which are hooked up under the sink.

Here we find a small sampling of my childhood collection of dog figurines. I’ve gotten rid of most of them, but some were actually kind of cool and maybe I’m pulling it off and maybe I’m not but I don’t care. It’s sort of fun seeing these guys again.

OH RIGHT, THAT HUGE SLAB OF MARBLE. So here’s the deal. Craigslist, $300. It’s a little over 5’x3′, and I bought it with the intention of it being my kitchen island (and therefore not considering it part of the money spent on this room). It’s 2″ thick and came out of this contractor’s garage, where he’d been storing it for the same purpose for the last 30 years. He got it out of another contractor’s garage who’d also been storing it for 30 years, also for that same purpose! The original contractor had pulled it out of a Victorian-era candy shop that was being demolished—can you imagine that?! So ANYWAY it’s huge and probably weighs 400 pounds and I needed to put it SOMEWHERE since custom-kitchen-island is still a ways away, so I just put it right on top of the machines.

I recognize that this sounds like a very bad idea, but I figured….hey. If the washer can stack on top of the dryer, SURELY it can handle a 400 pound slab of natural stone, right??? So I did it, and it’s been three months, and it hasn’t budged, and the machines didn’t collapse, so obviously there’s nothing to worry about here. Lol. If I ever need to call LG out for service, let’s keep this between us OK?

The marble is COVERED in 100 years worth of dings and scratches and pitting and I think that’s pretty perfect, personally. I’ll likely want to seal it with SOMETHING but I’m not super concerned about it continuing to age and patina.

I bought those two big hooks years ago, and it turned out they they make a good rack for the ironing board and iron! For the ~2 times per year that I use them.

There wasn’t really a great spot in this laundry room to hang the drying rack I had in my old laundry room, so instead I put up my Eames Hang-it-All! Anything that needs to dry flat can go on the marble, and anything that needs to be hung can go on a hanger off of this. I love my Hang-it-All and it’s so nice the be using it again after it collected dust for a few years!

It’s hard to get a good picture of, but that little tiny closet under the stairs is my new cleaning cupboard! Those stainless steel shelves used to hang in Anna’s kitchen in Newburgh—they were part of the GRUNDTAL series at IKEA but I’m not sure they still make them. The red bucket has all the cleaning basics so I can carry it around from room to room when I clean and it feels SO ADULT I can’t even stand myself. A cleaning caddy of my very own! Talk about peak experiences.

I mentioned this before, but I re-painted the floor from white (WHICH MADE ME INSANE) to this soft Farrow & Ball pink called “Setting Plaster.” I love it! Painted floors do show a lot of dirt and dust no matter what, I think, but shifting away from white makes it much more manageable. And the rug! I have a weird soft spot for old braided rugs—they just feel so homespun and sweet. I think this one was $10 a while ago and it happens to be the PERFECT size for this room.

OH! And this is neither here nor there, but I did want to circle back on the now-painted-white-but-originally-PURPLE XP drywall I used in this room! This is the Soundbreak XP, which is recommended for rooms you want to contain noise in (or keep it out of), and it’s GREAT. My bedroom is on the other side of this wall, and I really can’t hear the machines when they’re on at all. Cars just driving down the street are louder! I do get a bit of structural vibration during the spin cycles, but nothing dramatic. Everything I was worried about with moving the machines upstairs has thus far turned out to be completely fine. Better than fine! Because I have laundry again!

And it’s sorta cute, IMHO.

The Laundry Room, 2018 Edition! published first on https://carpetgurus.tumblr.com/

0 notes

interiorstarweb · 6 years

Text

The Laundry Room, 2018 Edition!

Laundry room! With a utility sink! And a pink floor! I ain’t mad about it!

I still spray-painted the legs black, because I can’t help myself.

Maybe I’ll make a bunch of them so I can change the sink’s outfits seasonally. Hawt lewks for my stained plastic tub sink.

I love my little hooks! These just came from various closets and stuff around the house, I don’t know. The long Turkish towel hides the supply lines which are hooked up under the sink.

I bought those two big hooks years ago, and it turned out they they make a good rack for the ironing board and iron! For the ~2 times per year that I use them.

And it’s sorta cute, IMHO.

The Laundry Room, 2018 Edition! published first on https://novaformmattressreview.tumblr.com/

0 notes

billydmacklin · 6 years

Text

The Laundry Room, 2018 Edition!

Laundry room! With a utility sink! And a pink floor! I ain’t mad about it!

I still spray-painted the legs black, because I can’t help myself.

Maybe I’ll make a bunch of them so I can change the sink’s outfits seasonally. Hawt lewks for my stained plastic tub sink.

I love my little hooks! These just came from various closets and stuff around the house, I don’t know. The long Turkish towel hides the supply lines which are hooked up under the sink.

I bought those two big hooks years ago, and it turned out they they make a good rack for the ironing board and iron! For the ~2 times per year that I use them.

And it’s sorta cute, IMHO.

The Laundry Room, 2018 Edition! published first on https://carpetgurus.tumblr.com/

0 notes