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luxekook · 4 years

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chapter seven.

⇥ pairing: ot7 x reader

⇥ genre: college au with fluff, smut & angst

⇥ summary: a series in which the reader meets (and falls for) seven members of the Beta Tau Sigma (BTS) fraternity

⇥ word count: 3.6k

⇥ warnings: 18+, lots of cursing, general chaotic energy, poly relationship, a short confrontation, mentions of slut-shaming, switch!reader, dom!joon, switch!jin, sub!jimin, library shenanigans, an abundance of coffee, punishments, spanking, bad puns (jin is in this chapter, DUH), many nerd references uwu

Chapter Seven

Quinn Library – 3:54pm

The end of September passes in a blur of studying, partying, volunteering, and spending time with friends. The month’s conclusion also includes the increasing presence of seven boys in my everyday routine.

Since giving Taehyung the suck of his life in the bathroom of Hannigan’s, I have been basically fighting off the seven of them for a moment to breathe. But, sometimes breathing is overrated when being smothered by affection.

Going from being single to essentially dating seven people is quite the adjustment. I found myself growing attached to them – something that both excited and scared the shit out of me. We haven’t discussed labels or anything, but I figure it’s only a matter of time. The boys have apparently been planning an elaborate first date for this upcoming weekend, and I feel like they’ll probably ask to make it official then.

My stomach erupts in butterflies at the thought, and I take a calming breath. No need to overthink such things.

While it might be unconventional by some societal standards, polyamory is simply a way to love. Why should love come with confines? With binary expectations? The saying ‘love is love’ gets thrown around a lot, but I believe it bears repeating.

Jenni and Luna have been nothing but supportive to me over the past two weeks. They even came with me to volunteer this past weekend because they - and I quote - wanted to ‘check out our vibe’. But, I wholeheartedly expect that the real reason had actually been for them to feel out the boys’ intentions.

Why did I suspect this? Well, because Jungkook had come up to me within the first fifteen minutes at the worksite quivering in fear over how ‘scary my friends were’ and how ‘Jenni had cornered him to interrogate him while Luna hovered behind her, menacingly holding a nail-gun’.

I had never felt more loved and supported by my friends.

My phone dings, and I quickly hasten to put it on silent, shooting an embarrassed and apologetic look around the library. It seems like most people have headphones in, and I let out a sigh of relief. No one wants to be that one loud person in the library.

Checking my notifications, I smile when I see it’s a SnapChat from Hobi in the group chat the boys created a few weeks ago. My thumb swipes it open, and I barely contain myself from announcing to the whole library how vibrantly handsome one of my potential boyfriends is.

I quickly send a SnapChat back of me and my stack of books in the library with the caption ‘send help in the form of coffee’.

Immediately, Taehyung sends a flurry of heart eyes emojis in the chat, Jungkook sends a ‘noona is so cute’, and Yoongi sends back a picture of a black screen with the caption ‘come nap with me’.

God, I would love to nap with Yoongi right now… Alone time with the older boy is so elusively precious. One day last week at their house, I had mentioned wanting to learn piano. Yoongi had just grabbed my hand and tugged me to his room. We had spent a couple hours together in the small corner of his room playing on his keyboard.

Well, he had been playing; I had been fumbling around like a buffoon - half uncoordinated in general and half flustered by how good Yoongi looked playing. His hands had been so nimble as they flew over the keys, crafting melodies I could only assume he had composed. His focus had been so fucking hot as he nodded slightly along to the tempo in his head, his eyes shooting over to look at me every once in a while.

My hand kink? Activated.

My willpower to not kiss the shit out of Yoongi? Nonexistent.

When Yoongi had paused in between songs, I may or may not have grabbed him by his shirt collar and kissed him. His blushing attempt to dodge me had been so cute; and when I had stopped trying to kiss him, he had pouted and then kissed me instead.

What a cutie…

A giggle draws my attention from my reminiscing. At first, I pay it no mind, taking it as a directive to dive back into my studies. But then, the whispering starts.

“I heard she’s fucking her way through the whole house.”

“Isn’t there a term for that?”

“Yeah, a frat rat.”

I slam my 500-page textbook closed and stand, leveling the duo of gossiping girls with a glare that could make grown men cry. It had before when I had to properly eviscerate my uncle in defense of feminism at our last family gathering. What a time that had been.

“Is there a problem?” I force the question through gritted teeth, stalking over towards their nearby table. I relish in the way they gape at me, eyes wide and pupils quivering, “I’m sorry. I’m afraid my complaint jar is at capacity. Please don’t try again later.”

The girl on the right gulps, “No-nope, there’s no problem! We were just leaving. Right, Janika?”

“No,” The girl who had called me a ‘frat rat’ just moments before crosses her arms and stands, “I do, like, have a problem.”

“Janika,” The other girl tugs on the sleeve of the one standing, “Don’t.”

“Yeah, Janika,” I smile, “Don’t.”

I can see the moment she snaps.

“You’re, like, such a fucking bitch! I don’t know what they all see in you. Oh wait, yes I do. You’re fucking easy.”

I consider myself to be a patient person, but having to endure this type of rant against my character - and against women’s sexual freedom in general - has pushed me well past my limits.

“Now, listen here, Janika,” I take another step forward, “You can keep talking your shit. I really don’t give a flying fuck what you think about me. But I really advise you to google ‘how to stop slut-shaming for dummies’ because it seems like you need a crash course.”

Janika’s face darkens, “Whatever. They’ll get tired of you anyway.”

“Yeah,” I let out an amused laugh, “I’m sure they’ll get real tired of me choking on their dicks every night.”

Letting out a gasp, Janika whirls back around to face her silent friend, “Let’s go. I don’t want to, like, be around her any longer.”

“Buh-bye now,”I wiggle my fingers in their direction as they shuffle out of the library.

Smiling in satisfaction, I head back towards my table. Without hesitation, I gather my books and belongings and head upstairs to the quiet floor. Any more distractions or confrontations would probably make my blood pressure pop off the charts.

The quiet floor, as one of my safe havens, is home to several small private study rooms. Peering into each, I start to lose hope that any would be available. Finally, the very last room proves me wrong, and I swing open the door and almost in tears over the sweet, sweet solitude.

This particular study room is tucked away in the very far corner of the library’s second floor. Not many people are aware of its location, and it seems that paid off for me today. Plopping my things down across the table in the center of the tiny room, I follow suit and drop down into one of the two chairs adjoining the table.

What a clusterfuck of an afternoon… This sadly isn’t the first time I’ve heard some comments being made about my association with the BTS boys, and I knew it wouldn’t be the last. Yet, part of me knew all along that this would be the trade-off.

After all, what are a few irrelevant opinions to seven gorgeous and loyal partners? Inconsequential - in my opinion. That is the reason why I haven’t breathed a word of the backlash to anyone.

Sighing, I flip open my textbook to where I had been before being rudely interrupted.

The amygdala plays a key role in emotion and behavior…

“Noona?”

I jump a half-mile out of my chair, slapping a hand over my pounding heart. Jimin had somehow managed to enter the room without my knowledge. Had he fucking teleported?

Holding a giant iced coffee in one hand and a cinnamon bun in the other, Jimin beams at me and ignores the fact he just scared the living shit out of me. “Hi, noona! I saw your SnapChat while I was in class, and I came here as soon as I could.”

I stare dumbfounded at the angel before me. Jimin is slightly out of breath with reddened cheeks and a sweaty brow. His black track-pants are slung low on his hips, his long-sleeve white t-shirt clings to his torso, his black duffle bag thrown carelessly over one shoulder. He must have run over straight from dance class.

Standing abruptly, I stalk over to where Jimin is still posted up by the doorway to the study room. Toe to toe with him, I blurt out while still half in a daze, “You really brought me coffee and food?”

He eyes me warily like I might suddenly jump on him at any moment. Shifting his weight back and forth, Jimin hesitantly replies, “Um, yes?"

I take the coffee and cinnamon bun from his hands, place them on the table, and then tackle him with the biggest hug. "You absolute sweetheart!" I murmur into the crook of his neck, "This made my day. Thank you, Jimin-ie."

His hands tentatively wrap around me, pulling me closer. "You're welcome, noona. I just wanted to do something nice for you.”

“Well, I really appreciate it, baby,” My lips brush over the crevice of his collarbone and relish in his shudder. Bringing my head up to face his, I smile widely at him, “Can I kiss you, Jimin-ie?”

“Yes,” He sighs out, eyes already closing in anticipation. I press my lips to his, still smiling softly against his mouth. His lips are plush under mine, velvety soft. My tongue swipes across his bottom lip and— Is that coffee I taste?

I pull back, “Jimin, did you sip my coffee on your way here?”

The boy looks rightfully alarmed, “I– y-yes. But only a little, noona!”

Cute.

“Hmm,” I trail my fingers down his chest, “I guess I’ll make an exception for you this time since you were the one to bring it for me.”

Jimin relaxes slightly, but his expression is strangely disappointed. I stare at him quizzically, and he blushes.

“What is it?” I lean against the table, facing him.

He clears his throat, staring intensely at the ground, “You can still punish me if you want, (y/n)-noona.”

My eyebrows shoot upwards at his offer, and then I let out a slight chuckle, “Oh, Jimin… That would be a favor to you, wouldn’t it? My baby boy wants to be punished, hm? Did dance practice make you all hot and bothered? Jungkook tells me that has been happening to you lately.”

Jimin’s face explodes in color as he mutters, “That little bitch will pay for this.”

Suddenly, the door swings open with a resounding thud, nearly clipping Jimin in the shoulder.

“Your savior has arrived!” Kim Seokjin announces loudly in spite of the studiously silent atmosphere of the quiet floor. His hands hold two steaming hot travel mugs, which I can only guess are filled with the elixir of the gods (aka coffee).

Seokjin’s eyes glance around the room as he takes in the fact that I’m not alone as he obviously had expected. “Wait, Jimin-ie? What are you doing here?” Jin’s eyes flick down to the coffee and cinnamon roll that lay on the table. “Goddamn it!”

“You were too slow, hyung,” Jimin smirks happily as he takes a seat in the chair I had previously vacated. He slouches smugly as he stares up at the fuming older boy.

“Too slow?!” Jin roars.

“Jin,” I chastise, circumventing around him to shut the door.

“Sorry, babe,” Seokjin says while still glaring daggers at the all-too-pleased Jimin. Suddenly, his expression changes into a sneaky look that makes me both want to run and jump his bones. “Well,” He waves the two coffee mugs around in the air, “I made these myself - with love. I didn’t buy that generic shit; I brewed it, baby.”

It’s Jimin’s turn again to look disgruntled, and I can’t help but laugh at their antics.

“Any and all coffee is appreciated and loved by me – the more the merrier. So, thank you both,” You say, taking one of the travel mugs from Seokjin. Kissing his cheek, you turn back to sit opposite Jimin at the table.

“She kissed me on the lips!” Jimin bursts.

“Park Jimin!” I cry as Jin splutters some sort of incoherent rant about fairness and equality.

Jimin holds eye contact with me, still leaning back in his chair like he’s the king of the fucking universe. But, he’s not; I am.

My chair hits the wall behind me with a bang as I stand, planting my hands on the table to loom over Jimin. “Do you think it’s fun to push your hyung, Jimin? Does it amuse you to be a little shit?”

I can see the moment that Jimin decides to be a brat. His eyes heat up in a challenge, and he firmly answers, “Yes, noona.”

“Get up.” The change in my tone is apparent. Jimin gulps. Getting to his feet, he stares back at me expectantly.

“Jin,” I address the older boy while still maintaining eye contact with Jimin, “What kind of punishment do you think I should give our Jimin here?”

Seokjin rounds my other side, grinning, “Well, (y/n) darling, I believe he should get spanked.”

“Interesting choice,” I murmur, turning to face Jin, “That’s what you’re going to get then.”

“What?” Jin squawks, arms waving rapidly around in the air, “But I didn’t do anything!”

“Nothing is what you should have done, Jin,” I push him against the wall, “You know better than to let Jimin rile you up like this.”

Those plump lips of his pout dramatically as he whines, “But, (y/n)…”

“But nothing,” I say and then whirl around to face the other boy. He’s still standing where I left him with his eyes glued to the pair of us. “Jimin,” I hold his gaze, “You’re going to watch. You’re not going to touch yourself, your hyung isn’t going to touch you, and I’m not going to touch you.”

His eyes widen comically, “No! That’s not fair!”

“Do you want to be gagged, too, baby boy?” I ask, cocking my head slightly. Seeing his emphatic head shakes, I grin. “That’s what I thought. Now, stay.”

Turning back to Jin, I smirk slightly as I ask, “Punishment now or later?”

Seokjin’s eyes scrunch cutely in confusion, “What?”

“You see,” I move closer to him, my body brushes his, “I think you earned a punishment, but I think you also earned helping me punish Jimin.”

A wide grin crosses Jin’s face as he glances back at the corner Jimin is stewing in. “I would be honored to help you punish him, babe.”

“That’s what I figured,” I smile briefly at him before slowly sliding my hands up his chest to rest on the nape of his neck. Holding them there, I press the lightest of kisses to the corner of his lips.

Jin’s breath hitches in his throat.

I run my tongue against the seam of his mouth, taking my time and savoring the sweet taste of him. His lips part to let me in, my tongue sliding across his. I grind against him as we kiss, moving my hips in such a way that makes him groan and lean back harder against the wall.

“What the fuck is going on in here?”

Ripping my mouth from Jin’s, I turn to face the newcomer.

Namjoon stands in the doorway holding yet another cup of coffee, his face thunderous. "What do the three of you think you're doing? This is the goddamn library, you heathens!”

Seokjin jumps out of his skin in fright, pushing me away faster than I can anticipate. Stumbling back, I crash into Jimin – who apparently had ventured out of his assigned corner. Brat.

“The shades were open!” Namjoon continues to rant as he flicks the aforementioned item down to cover the door’s window, “Did you want people to see you?”

He reads the expression on my face correctly, “Oh, but you did, didn’t you, (y/n)?” Namjoon approaches where I’m still captured in Jimin’s embrace. Glaring down at me, he taunts, “So quick to stake your claim; but, make no mistake, they were mine first.”

Shaking out of Jimin’s hold, I straighten, raising my chin to meet Namjoon’s gaze full-on, “That’s interesting. I didn’t realize you were so lenient with your partners.”

Jimin makes a choking noise behind me. Jin stands behind Namjoon, waving a hand in front of his throat to clearly tell me to stop talking. I keep going, “Perhaps I need to teach you how to discipline.”

Namjoon flips me around, shoves Jimin out of the way, and bends me facedown across the table.

“Jin,” He says, his voice growly, “Stand in the hall and let me know if you can hear us.”

The sound of the door opening and closing alerts me that Jin followed Namjoon’s instructions without a word.

“Jimin,” He continues, “Hold (y/n)’s hands out in front of her.” Jimin ascquieces, staring apologetically down at me as he tugs my hands towards him.

“This is cute,” I say, “I always love holding Jimin-ie’s hands.”

Thwack. The stinging imprint of Namjoon’s palm on my ass burns deliciously. I arch my back, looking over my shoulder at him with a half-smile. “Do it harder, daddy.”

A breath sucks in between his lips as I utter the word I know will get him feeling as hot as me. “You’re playing a dangerous game, baby girl,” Namjoon grits out, his jaw clenched tightly.

“Oh, daddy,” I say, “Don’t you remember? I’m the fucking Queen.”

“Was that a chess pun? Nice.” A muffled voice followed by a squeaky laugh sounds through the door.

“Seokjin,” Namjoon seethes, flying over to open the door and drag the older boy back inside, “I thought I told you to let me know if you could hear us.”

I tug out of Jimin’s gentle hold, straighten back up, and then situate myself into a sitting position on the table.

I watch amusedly as Jin shimmies his way out of Joon’s grasp, “Yah! It’s not my fault I get intense FOMO. Don’t hate the player, hate the game. Besides, I only heard you because I had my ear pressed to the door.”

Jimin stifles a giggle. I let out a full-on laugh. Namjoon mumbles what sounds like a plea to some higher power under his breath.

“See what I have to deal with?” Namjoon turns to me, shaking his head. “Are you sure you want to sign up for this?”

“That depends,” I swing my legs back and forth as I stay perched on the table, “Are you going to keep spanking me?”

The boy who had just unhesitatingly bent me over to punish me now blushes and rubs the back of his neck. “I mean, probably? You have quite a mouth on you, baby.”

Hopping off the table, I laugh, “Good answer. Ten points to Gryffindor.”

“Woo!” Jin cheers, “Nice job on the House Points, Joon-ie!”

“I am in love with idiots,” Jimin sighs.

Grabbing my phone from my backpack, I let out a slight yell as I read the time. “Shit, shit, shit, shit!” I scramble to shove all of my textbooks back into my bag.

“What is it, noona?” Jimin worries, appearing next to me. “Are you late for class?”

“No,” I cry, “It’s so much worse. I’m late for my weekly Animal Crossing discord chat! Heath is gonna kill me…”

“Heath?” Jin scowls, “Who is this Heath you speak of?”

“Chill, fam,” I shrug my backpack onto my shoulders and stare contemplatively down at the three different coffees. “You can’t get jealous every time I mention a new person. What’s next? You’re gonna come for Tom Nook?”

Namjoon - who must play Animal Crossing - stifles a laugh as Jin pouts. “She has a point, Jin.”

“And so does a pencil. Big whoop,” Jin scowls with his arms folded.

“Aw, Seokjin-ie,” I coo, reaching over to pinch his cheek, “Don’t be mad. You’ll get to spend all day with me on Saturday after volunteering! What are we doing, anyways?” I level Joon with my best side-eye as I ask that question, knowing he is more likely than not the mastermind behind our planned date.

“It’s going to be great, noona!” Jimin pipes up, hugging me from the side, “You’re going to love it…You’re going to love us.” He murmurs the last part, probably not meaning for me to hear; but, I do.

God, I do.

“We’ll pick you up before volunteering,” Joon says, “Just bring yourself and a change of clothes.”

“What?” I decide - fuck it - and attempt to grab all three coffees, “No overnight bag?”

Jin, who had just taken a sip of his own coffee, spews it everywhere. “Pack one,” He gasps out in between coughs.

Laughing, I walk to the door, which Jimin kindly opens for me. “Okay, I’ll think about it. Ah, I’m so late. Jimin and Jin, I’ll punish you at a later time. Joon, you can try to punish me at a later time.” Living for their astonished expressions, I wave as best I can with three coffees in hand, “Bye, babes! Text me-e-e.”

As I make my way out of the library, it hits me that I only have one more day to prepare for this date. Fucking hell…

a/n: this is such a filler of a chap with a tinge of drama mixed in, hehe. the next one is gonna be that date tho uwu stay tuuuuuuned and thanks 4 reading

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0ffgun · 4 years

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Alright so!! I got some requests from people for me to make a post with tips on how I self-study my languages, so here we are! It’s not perfect and everyone studies differently, but I hope some of these tips can help you out.

Personally I study Korean & Thai so this list is aimed at those but a lot of the study tips are pretty general and can be applied to whatever language you’re learning.

I’m an energetic puppy in human form - I simply CANNOT sit still and study for longer than 20 minutes before getting insanely restless and distracted, so I tend to only actually sit down and actively study once a week. If you’re expecting something clever and insightful this is absolutely the opposite of that... I basically trick myself into learning! So here is my silly little guide, let’s go!

General Tips:

★ Get ridiculous with sticky notes. Seriously, do it. If you’re just starting out and don’t know the words for all of those household objects then go ahead and scribble them down on those post its and stick them EVERYWHERE. It might drive your family members/roommates crazy but hey... you’re doing it for a good cause, right?

★ Don’t rely on romanization too much - if your language has its own writing system, focus on that using as much as you can. Romanization seems helpful but in the long run you’ll rely on it too much. It’s better to get familiar with the native writing system asap!

★ Pick out a word/phrase of the day and write it somewhere you’ll see it often. I have a whiteboard in my room that I’ll scribble a few phrases onto and then every time I walk past it, I’ll say them. Or if I’m not gonna be home all day then I write something on my wrist and glance at it throughout the day! This one is the most fun because when people see it they’re like “ooh that looks pretty!” or “ooh does it mean something deep and profound?” when in reality you have the phrase I like cheese written on your arm and it never stops being entertaining. Bonus points if someone native to that language reads it and looks at you like you’re crazy.

★ Say the words in silly voices. It sounds weird but if you’re sitting there repeating words (like the word banana, for example) from an app in a monotone voice you’re definitely less likely to remember it than if you’re yelling out “BANANA!!” in an opera voice or squeaking out “b an a n a” dramatically as you let go of Jack’s hand and let him sink into the ocean.

★ Don’t isolate vocabulary. Learning new words is great, but it’s useless and you’re more likely to forget it if you don’t learn to use it in a sentence.

★ Keep a diary! One of the absolute best ways to practice your writing and improve your skills is to just jot down a few things every now and then. It’ll be rusty and you won’t have much to say at first and will definitely keep needing that dictionary every 2 seconds, but after a few weeks you’ll really notice the difference. Buy pretty pens and stickers to motivate yourself to write in it! It’s also fun to do this around people who can’t speak it as they’ll look at it in awe and you can show off when in actual fact your writing is usually a clumsy scribbled “today I snacks eat and go sleep” but hey what they don’t know can’t hurt and it’s always fun to look like a genius.

★ Talk to your pets in that language. They’re not going to judge you, they actually don’t even care what you say as long as you say it in that entertaining pet voice. I don’t have any friends that speak Korean or Thai so the majority of my speaking practice is hurled at my dog. If you don’t have a pet, then plants or stuffed animals work perfectly too!

★ Listen to language podcasts while you do household chores, heck if you’ve gotta do something boring, might as well yell foreign words while you do it!

★ Change your phone settings to your target language. That way you’re literally forcing yourself to use it, and it becomes second nature and you pick up key words so quickly. Only do it if you know how to get back into your settings and change it back if you have to... or else you’re stuck and lost.

★ Listen to music and sing a lot. Just scream those lyrics! A little off-key screeching never hurt anybody!

★ Get comfortable with numbers. They’re something that is dominant in ALL languages and you’re going to use them on a daily basis. Start with learning how to count to ten and get comfortable with it, and then go higher. Once you’re used to numbers individually, make it harder. I used to get my mum to write out 10 random numbers between 1 to 10,000 in the morning and I would translate them, and then I would do the same for myself in the evening. After a while you get quicker at them and before you know it you don’t have to awkwardly translate them in your head anymore, the numbers are just there ready in your brain.

★ Don’t only watch dramas! Watch more natural stuff too - variety shows, vlogs, instagram lives... anything where people are just chatting like they normally would do. That way you’re subconsciously learning more casual speech patterns and casual language too!

★ Don’t just study at home! Always make sure you have a dictionary handy (like on your phone, for example!) and keep your brain busy while you’re out and about. Buying some groceries? Try to name everything in the fruit and vegetable aisles and if you don’t know the name of something, look it up! You’re more likely to remember vocab this way as your brain has a situation to associate it to.

★ Be mean and make yourself work for things you normally do - check your horoscope on a regular basis? Read it in your new language instead! Want to check out the weather forecast? Do it the hard way.

★ Don’t feel like studying? Not in the mood? Then don’t do it! Instead put on your favourite show in your study language of choice. Not every study session has to be a hard one. Just relax and watch a foreign movie! You have no idea how much your brain picks up without you even noticing, chilling out and watching a drama absolutely counts as studying. Don’t force yourself to study if you’re not feeling it, you’re more likely to learn if you’re having a good time.

Advanced Tips:

★ Get keyboard stickers - if your new language has a different alphabet and you use your laptop to study it a lot then you’re definitely gonna need these! You can buy them SUPER cheap on ebay!

★ Change the language on your Netflix account and get ready to binge watch your faves! If you change your profile language to the one that you’re studying, you’ll notice that a lot of the shows available will now show subtitles in that language too. If you’re pretty advanced then now is probably the time to drop your native subs and start watching with the original subtitles in the original language.. good luck!

★ Play Pokemon. When the latest Pokemon games started coming out with Korean language options I JUMPED at the chance - what better way to study than to just laze around playing video games? This is great for any other kinds of games you can snatch up in your target language too.

★ Read a favourite book in your new language. A common one is Harry Potter! It’s pretty much available in every language at this point and it’s a story you probably already know, which means you never get too lost because you know the plot already.

Resources:

Here are a bunch of apps and things that I use for studying that I find super helpful (and all of these are free!)

Drops (for Thai and Korean - available in both the apple store and the google play store) - I use this app every single day without fail. It’s brilliant for expanding your vocabulary (there are TONS of languages available on there too!) HOWEVER: It only lets you study for 5 minutes and then you have to wait around 9-ish hours before you gain another 5 minutes to work with unless you want to pay for more. But honestly? That’s a good thing. You only need 5 minutes of vocab study before your brain wants to dissolve into mush anyway. I get up, do my morning stuff (usually just involves rolling around and blinking in confusion before grabbing a coffee) and then sit and do 5 minutes of drops, and then by the evening my 5 minutes have replenished and I do it again. Rinse and repeat, and you’ll be learning more words in a week than you even realise!

Duolingo (I use this for Korean, there is currently no Thai option) - This app is fantastic. I don’t recommend it for beginners as it should be used as more of an aid alongside your natural studies, rather than as a study resource itself. This app expects you to already know the basics so I’d dig into this one once you’re starting to get a little comfortable with your language!

Naver Dictionary (for Korean) - I use this every single day! Not only does it help me when I need to find a certain word, it also gives me lists of example sentences which is PERFECT and super helpful when I’m trying to memorize words! And for Thai I use Thai-English Dictionary (I can only find it in the Apple store sadly) and that’s incredibly handy too, I wouldn’t be able to cope without it! I also use this website as a Thai dictionary when I’m not on my iPad!

Talk To Me In Korean (for Korean) - This has been a core element to my Korean studies. They have tons of lessons available on their website, they do regular YouTube videos (usually only 5-10 mins long, perfect for just a mini casual study session!) and they also sell textbooks and do podcasts too. If you learn best from textbooks then these are by far my favourite ones I’ve found, give them a try! They’re not too pricey.

Lingodeer (for Korean) - It’s cute, it’s friendly and it’s helpful!! I learned a bunch of new phrases using this one and it’s perfect for casual study!

Memrise (for Korean) - Fantastic if you’re a beginner! There are tons of languages available on here too. Although, there are only 3 levels in Korean so I got through this one pretty fast.

Eggbun (for Korean) - An app that encourages you to learn using a texting format! I haven’t really used it much but I have friends that have said it’s really useful!

Ling (for Thai and Korean) - This one was pretty good, once again though I wouldn’t use it if you’re a beginner, it’s probably a lot more helpful if you know the basics before you attempt this one! I’ve only used it for Thai but there’s a Korean option you could try checking it out!

Mondly (for Thai and Korean) - This app is cheeky and it wants your money. You get a bunch of free lessons to start with which are GREAT but that’s it. Then it reduces you to one free lesson a day but honestly? Still useful so go ahead and use it. They also have speaking practice available too!

Thai2English (for Thai) - This website is an absolute LIFESAVER!! If I’m ever browsing and come across a sentence that just throws me, I simply copy and paste and this legend of a website just breaks it down for me word for word.

Extra Korean links:

Children’s books in Korean

Learning Korean through fairytales - a textbook used in Korea for children who are learning to read, it’s helpful as a Korean language learner too! You get a little story and then it’ll ask you questions about what you just read.

TOPIK previous exams - these are so good for practice and if you want to get a general idea of what academic level your Korean skills are at.

Learning to type in Hangul - this one was fun and I now type Korean pretty comfortably on my laptop so if you know you’re gonna be typing a lot, I recommend this program!

#the way I learn languages is so weird I am so SORRY #I kinda just implement my language into my daily life and it works perfectly for me... I hope this is helpful to at least ONE person djgsjk #thai resources are sadly not that common but I'll add more if I find them!#language studies

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evening-starlight · 3 years

Text

Chances {Chapter Ten}

I think this is my longest Chapter so far lmao

Master List

Tainted

Word Count: 1867

I'll be honest with you guys, our first kiss is tainted. This chapter will explain it. I will also mention that this might be hard for some readers to read, so reader discretion is advised.

I pray for the world to open and swallow me whole right then and there. Of course, he would show up. He has to insert himself into every wonderful thing in my life. He has to plaster his face in every corner of my mind. Tom looks over my head at the man I used to be married to. This is not how I wanted to tell Tom about who it was. I slip my hands out of Tom's and turn around to Jared.

He smiles wickedly like I've fallen into his trap. The smile sends waves of nausea and anxiety coursing through every vein in my body. "What do you want, Jared?" He hands me a bouquet of flowers. Purple and green daisies. I cross my arms to avoid taking them. "I was thinking of you, so I bought you some flowers." Jared's attention shifts his attention to Tom behind me. "Thank you for dropping my wife off. I really appreciate it." Oh, absolutely the fuck not.

"Jared," I snap, pushing him away from Tom so we can speak semi-privately. "Why in God's name are you here? I am not your fucking wife. I don't want your damn flowers, which you never bought me when we were together anyways. I don't want you near me." My voice rising with the anger I feel boiling inside me. "You are nothing but a horrible stain on my history that I wish I could erase. You have ruined my life from the moment you walked in with that stupid book. You are the most possessive prick I have met in my life, and I regret every minute I spent with you." Jared continues to smile down at me. He has me right where he wanted me, yelling and spewing venom.

"I just wanted to show Tom what kind of girl you really are," He says, looking at Tom behind me. "A venomous bitch." My jaw drops to the floor when I realize I walked right into his trap. He pushes the flowers into my chest and grabs my face roughly in his hands. The kiss is forceful and possessive. I feel the bile rising in my throat the longer he keeps his lips pressed to mine.

Jared finally pulls away, wiping his lips. "I'll see you later, Jules." He walks off like nothing volatile just happened. I have approximately five seconds before I spew popcorn all over the steps. I drop the flowers on the ground and rush to the door, slamming my keys against the sensor pad and hoping it works. The door clicks like a heavenly sign. The gold trash can next to Will's desk is the closest and safest spot for the vomit.

"Holy shit, Stella. Are you okay?" Will asks, standing up from his desk as I empty my guts into his freshly cleaned bin after falling to my knees. Someone rests their hand on my back before pulling my hair out of my face. I wave them off.

"Fuck off, Jared." I manage between heaves.

"It's not Jared." Tom answers. "I want to make sure you're okay, and then I'll leave if you'd prefer." I have no energy to fight as I continue to dry heave, nothing but saliva and air coming out. Will hands me a handful of tissues as I sit back on my heels. I manage a small smile in return as I wipe my mouth.

"Sorry, Will." I apologize.

"Don't be. I'd rather it the trashcan than across the floor," Will jokes back. "Let me get you a water from the back." I look at Tom when Will leaves.

"I'm sorry. Theater popcorn doesn't taste good coming back up." He shakes his head with a small laugh.

"Don't apologize, Love. He seems like a cock." I chuckle with a nod. "I'm not going to force you to talk about it now, but I would like to understand more about that relationship." I nod. It's a fair request.

"If you grab those stupid flowers for me, we can head up to my apartment and talk. If you want," I suggest. Tom gets up to grab the flowers as Will comes back with a cold water bottle. I trade Tom the bottle for the flowers, pushing them bud first into the bin I just hurled in. I give Will another apology and tell him I'll get him his favorite bistro next time I'm at the studio.

Tom follows me back to the elevator silently. I have no idea what to say to him, especially after something like that. What are you supposed to say when you kiss the guy of your dreams, and your abusive ex comes by and forces one on you? Sorry I have a fucked up past I've been conveniently avoiding? I unlock my apartment door and walk in first. "You can sit anywhere. I have to go bleach my mouth." I mumble, making my way to the bathroom.

I avoid looking at myself as I gargle mouthwash, turning my back to the mirror. I can't believe I let that happen. I should have done something other than stand there like a statue. Why couldn't I do anything other than stand there and let Jared do that? Tom must think I'm a whore.

The mouthwash is traded out for my toothbrush and toothpaste as I continue replaying what the hell just happened. Jared showing up out of nowhere with flowers after years of saying they're meaningless because they'll just die. And of course, they were purple and green; self-centered prick was probably thinking of himself as he bought the Joker colors. I meet my own eyes in the mirror as I stand straight after spitting the toothpaste out. I have mascara tear streaks running down my cheeks. I've paled considerably enough to enhance the dark circles under my eyes. I look terminally ill.

I fix my makeup steaks quickly before walking out to the kitchen. "Do you want something to drink?" I ask Tom. "I have beer, Capri Sun, and water, but you'll have to drink out of a shot glass because the two cups I have are dirty." Tom opts for a CapriSun. I hand it to him as I sit on the opposite end of my couch. We sit in silence for a few minutes while I think of how to start talking and how much I want to tell him.

"Your apartment is quite nice," Tom starts, looking around at all the frames I have of the band and I. "Do you play all those?" He asks, gesturing to my elevated music area by my balcony door. On it is a bass guitar, acoustic and electric guitar, along with a keyboard and violin.

"Yeah, when my parents heard I wanted to make music because Jared was, they paid for multiple lessons. I fell in love with singing, but I can definitely shred it on bass." I joke. Tom laughs with a slight nod.

"How old were you when you met Jared again?" Tom asks in such a casual tone it calms me down slightly. Maybe he's just worried about me. Or maybe he just wants to know where Jared went wrong so he won't make the same mistakes, good or bad.

"I was introduced to him at fourteen." I avoid Tom's sudden worried look by looking at the floor beneath my sneakers. I should get a carpet in here. "My parents wanted to be millionaires, so they moved us all to LA when I was, like, three, I think. I don't know how they met Jared's family. They never told me, and neither did Jared.

"Everything was really innocent at first. He was my closest friend for years. He helped me with homework and practicing my music. I wanted to be just like him." I let out a bitter laugh. "I was sixteen when I realized I like him as more than a friend. We had to share a bed in a hotel on tour, and I remember not sleeping because he was right there, and he was cuddling me. He asked me out the day of my eighteenth and proposed two months later, married two more after that. We got divorced when I was twenty when I realized how much I really did miss out on life, and he was so possessive he stopped letting me go to band practice without him.

"The band started pointing it out too. Robbie was the one who literally slapped sense into me. Because why would I hit Robbie back and tell him off, but not Jared? So, yeah. Jared's super possessive and still is." I finish quickly, realizing I was going on a tangent.

"And he called you Jules?" I almost wished Tom would have forgotten about that. I know it's somewhere on my Wikipedia page, but would Tom have gone that far in learning about me?

"I've had three legal names in my life," I say, finally bringing myself to look at Tom. He seems concerned, and his eyes are so soft and welcoming I could curl up into his chest right this second. "Juliet Davis is my birth name, and I took Jared's last name when we got married. Then, about a year after our divorce, I decided to rebrand myself and use a new name entirely. Don't ask me why I chose Thompson; I googled it when I was drunk, and it just stuck. Stella is from this one kids' book I was obsessed with for years, Stellaluna. I don't know why, but I carried it everywhere with me until about junior high."

I guess I didn't notice the tears falling or that my voice was faltering. However, Tom did. Without hesitation, he pulls me into his arms, resting his head on mine. "I'm so sorry you had to go through all that, Love," He says in a soft voice. "You didn't deserve any of that. Thank you for sharing with me." I let him hold me for a while longer. I enjoy his touch, but I really just want to be alone to cry and break shit.

I don't know when I fell asleep; I just know when I woke up on the couch with a blanket on top of me and water on the coffee table in front of me, that Tom had taken care of me. He left a handwritten note as well, which I still have in my house. It said, 'I didn't want to leave you alone after something like tonight, but I felt it weird to stay the night uninvited. I truly appreciate you sharing something hard with me. I hope it's alright I washed a cup for you, and found some medicine as well, in case the crying caused a headache. Text me when you wake up. Much love, Tom.' Yes, I did run through the house like a crazy lady trying to find the letter so I could write it down verbatim.

#tom hiddleston #tom hiddelston imagine #tom hiddleston fanfic #tom hiddleston fanfiction #i got 99 problems and tom hiddleston could fix everyone of them #jared leto #Jared Leto imagine #jared leto fanfic #jared leto fanfiction #love #romance #fanfic #fanfiction #fiction #Original content #Oriiginal character #og #oc #Chances

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bubmyg · 5 years

Text

love is in the air - jhs

pairing: hoseok x reader

genre: teacher!au, enemies to lovers, humor, fluff, ft distressed principal namjoon, dorky fifth grade teaching pair seokjin and yoongi, second grade teaching duo jeongguk and taehyung, and allusions (like one) to best friend pe teacher jimin

word count: 3,964

summary: you wouldn’t say you hated the teacher of your neighboring classroom but you kind of hate him and now you’re paired up to compete in the school wide door decorating contest or you hate losing to Hoseok but you hate losing to Jeongguk and Taehyung in the second grade wing a thousand times more.

a/n: the first part of my “to lovers” valentine’s/anniversary series!! the series link is in my masterlist if you’re looking for it :’-)

“Last order of business…” Namjoon squinted at the piece of laminated paper. The blue coffee mug in hand was placed aside as the principal instead went to smudging at the slick surface with the curve of his thumb, “...the door decorating contest? Jeongguk, did you hand write this in?”

The young second grade teacher shrugged. “It’s an important manner of business.”

“Right,” Namjoon traded the Monday morning meeting notes for his mug again, taking a long, calming sip from the dark brew, “Why don’t you explain it seeing as you were eager enough to ransack my meeting and my notes for it.”

If Jeongguk were worried about the implications of testing his meticulous boss with red Sharpie, he didn’t show it. He left his chair, instead taking swinging steps until he was perched on the empty table at the front of the teacher’s lounge.

“The annual Valentine’s Day door decorating contest…”

You snorted into your tervis, watching as Namjoon’s features registered that one of his teachers was on the table before his conscious did. Jeongguk was none the wiser, squatting as his arms did a dramatic sweeping motion, “The one thing we look forward to aside from summer vacation. The thing that heals our hearts after seeing our paychecks, after cleaning up vomit for the fourth time on day two of flu season, after having outdoor recess duty for the third week in a row, after—”

“Get on with it,” A low rumble of laughter rippled through everyone at the new voice. Hoseok laughed with the reaction to his interjection, adding with a shrug, eyes sliding in your direction, “We all know I’m going to win again.”

“Who won last year, Hobi?” The words in the forefront of your conscious materialized in the form of Jimin’s voice. The gym teacher beamed at your and his sneakers squeaked as he stepped close enough to bump his hip with yours.

Hoseok’s smirk didn’t falter from the side of your face, ignoring Jimin completely as he hummed, “Error in judging. The wrong will be righted this year seeing as I already have some incredible ideas.”

“Want to share those with the rest of us?” Yoongi looked up from centering his tie adorned in various volume formulas, “What? Last year the kids convinced me to make a giant heart out of prime numbers. Nobody got it.”

“Anyway, your righted win will have to be split two ways this year, hyung,” Jeongguk straightened, arms crossed at his chest, “Why, you ask?”

“The warning bell is going to ring in literally five minutes—”

“Because this year we’re working in teams,” Jeongguk beamed, “you and your neighbor will have to put together something spectacular, together, if you’d like to enter into this years contest. No exceptions aside from Jimin who doesn’t....have a neighbor. Unless you’d like to ask the cafeteria staff for help, but—”

Taehyung, Jeongguk’s neighbor, cheered. You, Hoseok’s neighbor, groaned.

“Great, amazing, wonderful, innovative—” Namjoon waved his mug, “—now can you get off my table?”

“Deadline is the day before the kids have their card exchange and party,” Jeongguk didn’t skip a beat when Namjoon grabbed onto his elbow to speed up his obnoxious clambering off his makeshift podium, “Winner will be decided at the end of the day, like always.”

“There are classes to be taught today—” Namjoon’s smile was tight lipped, chin on his shoulder as he dragged Jeongguk the last few steps to solid ground, “—like always.”

You were mid smiling at one of your former students just outside the third grade wing, throat still tinged with the swig of coffee you’d downed, when Hoseok caught you. You tried to act like he wasn’t there, directing your attention to the red and white paper chains dangling off the ceiling.

“If you want to give me the key to your room, I can have our, winning, doors decorated in one evening.”

You snorted, longer strides trying to evade him, “What, with one of your incredible ideas?”

“Exactly.”

You turned, glaring at the bright yellow squiggles standing at attention against the baby pink of Hoseok’s short sleeved button up. He had two black folders tucked to his chest, watch pressed to the center like a much too expensive logo, sarcastic smile pressed into high apple cheeks, beaded eyes watching you under rich red bangs.

You leaned, enough to brush shoulders again, laugh shoulder shaking and fake as you clipped, “Not a chance.”

“You’ll learn,” Hoseok hummed, pausing so abruptly you nearly tumbled over the top of him. He quirked an eyebrow and obnoxious oranges and yellows that bled from within the classroom you were stopped at certainly weren’t of your own doing, “Trying to follow me into my room now too?”

You’d regret the blister on your heel with how hard you stomped your foot for the rest of the day. “I hate you.”

Hoseok disappeared into his classroom, leaving you to fiddle with your keys on your lanyard, “Noted.”

The force in which a folder materialized out of thin air onto the surface of your keyboard closed out of your email and effectively typed a row of Z’s to the middle of your lesson plan for the following day. Hoseok paid no mind to that, nor to the rest of the contents on your desk as he brushed aside a paperweight with a green worm inside and a manilla folder filled with completed coloring pages to make himself comfortable on the edge of the wood.

“Hello to you, too,” You moved the folder to shut your laptop, smoothing your hands out over the lid, “Please, take a seat.”

Hoseok’s index finger tapped the center of the folder, “I printed out my ideas. Thought you might want to take a look.”

You nudged a stapled packet of google images out from the folder, taking your time to thumb through the contents. “So I don’t get a say in any of it?”

“You do,” He flicked the back of the packet, making you jump, “You can pick from one of those.”

You eyed a giant red tree filled with handmade hearts from students, “These have to stretch to two doors now, you know that right?”

“No shit—” Hoseok glanced over his shoulder, as if one of your students were still hiding in their cubby forty minutes after the final bell, “—no kidding. If we do that one, we can put half the tree on my door and half of it on yours but like, facing each other—” His fingers brushed yours as he flipped to a different page, a giant heart disguised as a clock with the statement it’s TIME to show our love for learning, “—that one half the heart on my door, half of it on yours. If we do the mailbox one, the letters can just flow from yours to mine.”

You toyed the packet between your fingers, bending it in the center as you squinted up at him, “You’ve really thought this through, huh?”

“Only the best to try to beat you,” He snatched the packet back with a giggle and a grin, “Now only the best to beat the assholes. Sorry. The idiots.”

“Jeongguk and Taehyung?”

Hoseok cocked an eyebrow, “Well I don’t mean Seokjin and Yoongi.”

You giggled, “I heard Seokjin wanted to put do math, not meth on their doors and Namjoon almost fainted.”

Hoseok rolled his eyes, hopping off the side of your desk in a flurry of papers and a rolling worm, “Jeongguk and Taehyung are doing Frozen—” You wrinkled your nose and he nodded, “—I know.”

“Ours will be better.”

“Yeah?”

“The 2017 and 2018 winners on one team? Hell yeah,” He shot you a look and you corrected, “Heck yeah!”

“I still should have won last year,” He picked at a stray piece of notebook paper balled on one of the desks in the front row, grinning when you glared at him. “Oh, come on. You’re one in a minion? Genius.”

“Everyone hates minions.”

“Not first graders.”

“First graders aren’t judging the doors. Namjoon is.”

“Whatever,” Hoseok crossed the room, shooting the piece of trash into the plastic bin in the corner, “Are we starting tomorrow, then?”

“We didn’t pick a design.”

A hunk of rolled up paper bounced across it’s forgotten paper, rolling into your hands that stopped it from plummeting off the edge of your desk. “Pick and let me know at lunch tomorrow so I know what rolls of paper to steal from the idiots in second grade.”

You worked at soothing out the wrinkles with the heel of your palm, “They don’t have names now?”

“Not while they’re our competition. See you tomorrow,” Hoseok caught a hand in the doorframe, red hair popping back around the corner as he hesitated, “Don’t work too late.”

You met his serious expression with the tiniest bit of amusement, even if you would never admit that your heart warmed in the slightest.

“Okay, dad.”

“Talk dirty to me, miss—”

“Okay really, get out before I lock you out.”

The sheet of pink paper in hand crinkled obnoxiously when you shifted your weight on your heels, squinting accusingly at the much too high top of your open classroom door.

“You didn’t steal a step stool too?”

Hoseok grunted from where he’d been bent over cutting a similar pink piece for his door, dropping the scissors to the tile. “Taehyung told me I had to sing Love is an Open Door for it or I didn’t want it that bad,” He stepped around the paper on the floor, careful not to scuff the vibrant color with the soles of his boots, “He was right, I didn’t want it that bad.”

“Want me to go down there and ask for it?”

“No, I want you to stand still,” You were about to squirm around in inquiry when a pair of arms secured around your middle and your feet were no longer touching the floor.

“Hoseok, what are you—”

“What the fuck does it look like I’m doing?” He roughly jostled you in his grasp, as if a punishment for not giving him the strength to lift you and correct his language, “Put the paper on.”

You went rigid in his grasp, shaking the paper sheepishly, “I, uh. Need the tape.”

Hoseok placed the roll of tape in your awaiting palm, squatting next to you once more. “Wait—” He paused, face pressed against your shoulder blades, hands on your hips, “—we need to cut out a space for the door handle.”

“What do you think I am, an animal? I already did it,” His feet took tiny pattering steps behind you, “Are you ready now?”

He staggered a few times and the tape placement wasn’t as even as if you were doing it on your own but it sufficed, both doors now covered in a layer of obnoxious pink. Hoseok had red now, legs spread, body bent at the middle as he worked at tracing a giant mailbox to be pasted on the corner of your door.

“Is that what a mailbox looks like?”

Hoseok tapped his phone across the paper to you as response, screen locked and open to a clip art version of the very thing. You slid the device back as your own retort, crawling and situating yourself until you were bent over the space he was sketching out with a pen adorned at the top with a ball of feathers.

“Yes, but what you’re drawing doesn’t look like the picture.”

His lips quirked into a pant, like he’d just ran up the stairs to the fifth grade wing and back to check Seokjin and Yoongi’s nonexistent progress. The feathers on the end of the pen startled your nose into a quick sneeze. “Think you could do better?”

“That looks the exact same.”

You didn’t pause, tracing over the open lid again, “As the picture? I’m aware.”

“No, as what I drew,” Hoseok’s foot snaked in between your drawing, nudging your pen aside so a haphazard mark appeared across the paper, “Oops, look like we have to use mine, yours is ruined.”

“Hoseok, what the—”

He dropped to his knees, reaching across the drawing to wrestle the pen from your grasp, “You weren’t about to swear, were you?”

“At you? Absolutely I was, now give me the pen back.”

The corner of his lips quirked, holding the pen out of your grasp, “But I have to fix your mistake, sweetheart.”

“It wasn’t a mistake until you made it a mistake, sweetheart—”

You lunged for Hoseok, in retrospect a terrible idea, as your nose rebounded off his chin, leaving you much too close to him and his heart colored hair and heart flushed cheeks and heart shaped mouth.

There was something thick and warm on your upper lip and you briefly thought that was a weird place for your embarrassment to begin flushing, warning it to save it for when you made a fool of yourself and pressed your lips against Hoseok’s but then—

“Uh, you’re bleeding.”

You blinked owlishly at Hoseok, “I’m what?”

“You’re bleeding,” He dropped the pen in favor of curling his fingers around your chin, tilting your head up for inspection, “I think my chin broke your nose.”

Your skin burned for another reason entirely, “Move, we can’t get this on any of the paper.”

Hoseok beamed, uncaring that the side of his index finger was smeared in rich maroon as he stood, offering it to you.

“Exactly.”

You dropped an envelope of tiny, handwritten notes onto the ground next to the cut out mailbox. “The kids asked why my nose was twice the size it should be.”

Hoseok glanced up from evening out the side of the mailbox post, “What’d you tell them?”

“That their favorite recess monitor with the cool hair and the even cooler shirts did it,” You plopped down beside him, tugging out the top letter, one from one of the boys in your class as you pointed to the name, “He asked me if you kissed it better.”

He nudged you as you worked on folding the letter, “Did you want me to?”

“I wanted a little more than a you’re going to get it all over my perfect mailbox.”

Hoseok gasped, “You said that first!”

“Doesn’t mean you had to agree with me.”

You’d nearly shoved the letter back in with it’s companions when a thumb and index finger were rounding your chin, grip purposeful as a pair of petaled lips dropped to your swollen nose.

“There,” Hoseok slipped the safety scissors back into his fingers, snipping another shard of red paper into his lap, “Better?”

Hoseok extended the last letter to you, white and reinforced in sparkly pink stationary you’d bought out of your own pocket. “Want to do the honors?”

You wordlessly took the last piece of the puzzle from him, the last R to Love is in the Air, crouching next to the post and fake grass and generic envelopes overflowing with your students “love letters to learning” with purple and pink and red hearts stamped to them that adorned each of your doors. Just because it was the last letter didn’t mean it lacked your careful consideration, rocking back on your heels to check the angle, aligning the straight parts of the letter with the floor. The generic tape rolled to the corners of the letter sanctioned when you placed it, crunching slightly as you ran crooked knuckles across the letter to secure it.

“Are we done?” Hoseok offered you his hand, pulling you to stand next to him in the middle of the hallway.

Your gradual nods got more frantic the more your assessing gaze swept across your handiwork, dropping your hand out, palm up for a high five. “I think so.”

Hoseok slapped your hand but chose to hold it rather than pulling away, clasping his fingers around your knuckles to give your intertwined appendages a good shake. “I think we make better friends than rivals, don’t you?”

You pretended to ponder the thought, as if you weren’t holding hands with your arch nemesis coworker who you wanted to force feed melted crayons up until three weeks ago.

“Yeah,” You said finally, voice soft, a question. More definite, you reiterated, “Yeah. I think so, too.”

You assumed the mad scramble back through the doorway from lunch was due to the pink sprinkled cookies laid out on heart shaped plates on each child’s desk along with their tiny paper bags filled with character shaped Valentine’s. But it’s like they couldn’t hold it in, nor decide who was going to break the news to you first, sliding head first into desks and chairs before at least fifteen hands shot up in the air.

“What’s wrong guys?”

Dozens of tiny pairs of eyes exchanged glances, before one of the little girls in the front row was giggling, placing two chubby hands over her lips as she mumbled something.

“My love, you’re going to have to speak up,” You rounded your desk to crouch next to hers.

Happily, she reached for your shoulders, leaning until she could whisper into your ear, “Mr. Jeon is wearing a dress.”

You thought she was going to tell you the cafeteria staff had given them cookies early. Maybe that they hadn’t lined up in the proper order just to see if you’d notice when they came back. Maybe that they’d all signed a giant Valentine for you (because they had, you saw it sticking out of one of their backpacks).

Not that Jeongguk was wearing a dress.

You made quick work of the Disney special on the projector, telling them to dig into their cookies while you ran a quick errand. Their attentions had quickly forgotten their potential next year teacher in favor of a sweet treat, allowing you to slip quietly out of the classroom. In the same instance was Hoseok leaving his room, pink cupcake in hand as he shut his door.

“What?” He accused, “I’m taking a snack to see Jeongguk in a dress.”

The pair were standing outside their classrooms because of course they were, Namjoon in the middle of their two doors with folded arms and a raised eyebrow. Taehyung was mapping the lines of the giant Olaf on his door while Jeongguk watched on, white wig and blue dress and all.

“See, Love is an Open Door!” Taehyung was explaining proudly, snowflake covered tie scraping the floor as he stood, “Like the song!”

“Shouldn’t the door be open then,” Hoseok mumbled, shoving the last of his cupcake in his cheeks.

Jeongguk looked unamused with the sentiment, turning toward the two of you with a dramatic swish of the train at his ankles.

“I’m literally wearing a dress.”

Hoseok nudged you, “We should have worn postal service costumes.”

“No,” Namjoon pinched the bridge of his nose, “No costumes. I can’t handle Seokjin in a costume.”

“Besides, we don’t need gimmicks to win. Ours is just good.”

“It’s good? Please, take me to the good door,” Namjoon held his arms straight in front of him, eyes closed as he navigated across the hallway and nearly into the wall.

“Woah,” Taehyung exclaimed once you were in front of your shut doors. “This is pretty good.”

“Who did the mailbox?”

You were about to take credit for it when Hoseok’s arm was heavy over your shoulders, squeezing, “We both did it. Teamwork, you know.”

Namjoon already seemed sold, flapping his arms again, “Yes, this is the best one I’ve seen all day. Which isn’t saying much seeing as Yoongi tried to pass two shaped fish kissing and Seokjin’s I’m so sofishsticated off as matching, Jeongguk is in a dress, and Jimin put tape on my gym floor.”

You leaned further into Hoseok’s embrace, nodding, “...so?”

“So, you two win what might be the last competition we ever host. Congrats, or whatever—” Namjoon turned directly into Taehyung’s beaming figure, “—what are you two doing? Don’t you, I don’t know, have classes to be teaching?”

“So I wore a dress for nothing?” Jeongguk pouted.

Taehyung looped a comforting arm around his friend’s neck, leading him off in the direction Namjoon was stalking, “I think you look cool, Guk-ah—”

You turned, happily bouncing until you were fully pressed against Hoseok’s chest. “We did it!” You grinned, hopping against when his arms anchored around your hips. “We won!”

“Mhm, well up against our competition, are you really going to consider this a win?”

“Of course I’m going to consider this a win,” You whacked the back of Hoseok’s neck, “and you know what else?”

“I have a cupcake with my name on it that you’re keeping me from?”

“No,” You leaned, nose brushing his, “This makes me a repeat champion.”

Hoseok’s nose wrinkled, “Bit of a low blow, don’t you think?”

“Just because you helped me in my quest to greatness doesn’t mean I’m going to start being nice to you.”

“Sad,” He squeezed your waist and you were consciously aware that his eyelashes were long enough to brush his cheeks when he blinked, “I was starting to like you just a little bit.”

“You’ve just been demoted from co-champion to reserve champion, how does it feel—”

“Mr. Jung, will you just kiss her already?”

You were sure to have whiplash from how quickly you cracked your neck to the thirty some pair of eyes crowded around each of you and Hoseok’s slightly ajar doors. Colors danced on the whiteboard on the back of your room, suggesting the movie was still playing but they were entirely more entranced with the cheesy love story of their favorite teachers than Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

“Yeah,” The little girl from your class whined, the same one who had happily informed you of Jeongguk’s choice in dress, “It’s Valentine’s Day, you have to kiss.”

Your chin was turned by a firm grip on your jaw, Hoseok’s amused and entirely too fond expression making you want to punch him for an entirely new reason. “They’re kids,” You warned him, as if the red haired man was going to shove his tongue down your throat from the pressure he kept on your neck.

“Got it,” Hoseok dismissed, barely pecking your pursed mouth before letting go of you entirely.

“Okay, okay, who wants to open some Valentine’s?”

“We have one more for you, miss.”

Crumbs of the cookie you’d been nibbling on pooled onto the paper plate you held beneath your chin, eyes wide as you surveyed the tiny army of children that had assembled in front of your desk. You quickly discarded the treat, dusting your palms off on your slacks as you reached for the shiny metallic heart they stretched in your direction.

“You guys know you didn’t have to get me anything,” You scolded gently, placing the heart in the cross of your thighs.

“Oh, it’s not from us,” One of the little boys giggled, his lips still stained red from his own cookie, “It’s from Mr. Jung. He slipped it under the door while you were redoing your lipstick.”

“Oh,” You were careful opening it, making sure to shield the contents within from prying, tiny eyes who could barely read more than their own names anyway.

There’s more where that comes from after hours ;)

“Miss, what’s it say?”

“Yeah, did he tell you he loves you?”

You slammed the card shut with a hard swallow, shoving the card underneath your desk somewhere between your purse and the space heater you kept plugged in year round.

“It...he just said he was sorry for hurting my nose a few weeks ago, that’s all, and uh...who wants more cookies?”

#jung hoseok #bts #bts reactions #bts scenarios #bts fluff #bts imagines #bts imagine #hoseok imagine #hoseok imagines #jung hoseok imagine #hoseok scenario #jung hoseok scenario #hoseok x reader #bts x reader #hoseok fluff #idk ajfdksajfdl what this is LMAO #not edited per usual #have part one taKE IT

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bthenoise · 5 years

Text

Q&A: Hear How Frank Iero Wants You To Become The Future Violents With Third Solo LP ‘Barriers’

All photos by Julius Aguilar

When you think of Frank Iero, we’re sure a lot of things come to mind. He’s a musician, he’s a dad, he’s an active user on Twitter. What most people might not realize is that Frank Iero is a huge music fan -- like, the guy knows way more about things you didn’t even know existed in the first place.

For example, take a certain guitar used by a late-60′s early-70′s band called The Wrecking Crew. Frank, being the musical factoid that he is, was able to spurt out knowledge dating back years from a recent documentary he had watched. Knowing this, we knew we had to take the former My Chemical Romance member to Arizona’s approximately 200,000 square-foot Musical Instrument Museum.

There, Frank and Noise contributor Jimmy Smith were able to walk the halls, discover instruments dating back to the 1800′s and discuss the upcoming Frank Iero And The Future Violents record Barriers.

For a glimpse into the knowledgable and insightful hang out, which also dove deep into Frank’s life-changing car accident between a city bus and his tour van, be sure to look below. Afterward, make sure to pre-order Frank’s forthcoming LP Barriers before it hits stores May 31st via UNFD.

Alright, so maybe the easiest or the hardest question I’ll ask you all day: What was the best thing you saw here at the Musical Instrument Museum?

Oh man, Tommy Tedesco’s [Telecaster]. That was unreal. I had no idea that [they] had that here. Like, I’ve seen documentaries on The Wrecking Crew and you learn about the incredible players they all were and how many songs that particular guitar has been on that you wouldn't even know. And just to kind of see it sitting there, it's like, “Wow.”

Were there any out-of-the-box instruments you would want to get on a record of yours?

That's the thing. Any chance you have to get an instrument in your hands and try to learn the inner workings of it and what kind of sound you can get out of it, that stuff's amazing. I like to sometimes try to take a step back and approach it from a side I don’t know and think about like, “How would I think of this instrument if I had never seen anyone else play it before? Like, how would I get a sound out of it that I’ve never heard?” And that’s kind of fun.

What do you think is the most unique instrument you've actually used on a record?

Well, early on in the My Chem days, a theremin was on [a record] but it's definitely not like one [that’s noticable]. Because it was just really a bit of a little sprinkle on top. That's an odd one to play. On this next record that we're releasing at the end of May, there's a song on Barriers called “Basement Eyes.” I wanted church bells, I wanted the chorus to have this Phil Spector kind of vibe with like percussion and almost like that feeling you get when you listen to The Crystals. “And Then He Kissed Me,” that kind of thing. So we rented this piano -- I guess, you’re not going to be able to see this reading this -- but it's like a desktop kind of thing, like maybe three-and-a-half feet tall, not a lot of keys and maybe an octave and a half. It's called a Viber-Charm and they sold it to churches that didn't have a lot of money and didn't have the pipe organ sort of church bells and they can play different things on this keyboard. And I mean, it had to be from like the 50s. [It had] braided cables, everything looked like it was going to catch on fire at any moment. And that made a resounding sound on that song. That's how we achieved that.

So obviously with every record you do you want to spice it up and do things differently. What else did you bring to the table this time around aside from adding new members?

Well, this was this is a fun one to do because I was able to really chase tones that I wanted to get. Usually, you don't have a lot of time in a studio, especially when you're a smaller artist or self-funding and stuff like that. [Usually,] you’re going into the studio with, you know, say 17 days or two weeks or something like that and you're trying to get 12 to 14 songs out. This record, we did 17 days and we did 17 songs. Steve Albini is the one that engineered this record. He’s just such a master of his craft. And I mean, he’s the only person that you work with that doesn't have any help, it’s just him in the studio. No ones there. Like someone goes and gets coffee sometimes. Other than that, like no one touches a microphone or anything. Like, he sets up everything himself. He's at the board. He does edits on tape, of course, it's like straight two-inch tape. You need someone that is so unbelievably versed in their craft to be able to make that time work. And we mixed in that amount of time as well.

Wow. Did you enjoy having that kind of time crunch?

[Laughs] There's definitely a picture of me [and] the whole band at the end of the session I posted on my Instagram. I look like someone that is like, “Oh my god, I can't believe we finished this.” And yeah, I mean, it's hard. You sleep at the studio too. So you record [all day] and then you can go in after hours and work on stuff. But like, you're there a lot and it's the second time in my life that I had an episode of sleep paralysis. Like, one of the nights, I woke up and my brain had woken up first but my body didn't. And I was like, “Oh no!” It's the scariest experience ever. So I was definitely stressed. But we got it done.

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Did the sleep paralysis affect any of the songs at all? Did it make you think differently about your lyrics maybe?

No [laughs]. Like, I've had it twice. Once it happened, I was in My Chemical Romance at the time, and I don't know if we were recording but I was definitely stressed out. And I didn't know what it was. And that [time] was like, “Oh man, there must be” -- I was in a hotel, I was like, “This must be haunted.” Like, immediately I went to that because it feels like someone's pushing you down and you can't move at all but you're fully awake and aware that you can't move and that's why it’s so scary. The second time it happened during this recording, I woke up and I was on my side, and I remember being like, “Oh no, it's happened again” [laughs].

The ghost found you!

[Laughs] Yeah! The ghost found me! Like, “Oh great, he’s followed me now.” But I heard this -- it almost felt like a laser starting from the top my head and going all the way down and I heard “zzzzzzzzzzz” like I was being scanned. It was crazy. And then when it finally got to my feet, [snaps] I woke up. I was able to come out of it and I immediately Googled it like “What the fuck is this?!” So I saw this sleep paralysis thing that said sometimes when your brain wakes up before your body, you can carry through a dream that you're having. So if you're having a nightmare, you'll see things from your nightmare and that’s why people think it's like, “Oh no, it's a demon holding me” and it freaks you out. But it's like, “Oh my god” [laughs].

So just talking about the people you brought in for this record, some of them you’ve known for a very long time. Like Tucker Rule, for example. What is it like to get to play in a band with him?

Oh, man, it's a dream come true. Like Matt [Amrstrong] too, I've known both of those guys since maybe 2000 or 2001. I saw them play in respected bands that I thought were just unreal. I mean, Thursday was one of the greatest live bands, and still is, that I've ever seen. And I remember being like, “Wow, I would love to play with Tucker.” And I got to play with Tucker later on in the 2000s when our drummer from My Chem Bob [Bryar] got sick and had to go home. I think Tucker came in for an Australian tour and that was really awesome. He was fantastic. I mean, he's a fantastic drummer it was great to play with him. But I remember being like, “I wish I could write songs with him.” Like he's playing parts that someone else wrote. And that's always weird. It's almost like putting on your dad’s suit. Like, you could look good in it but you're never going to look like it's yours.

So I was like, “Wouldn't it be cool to be able to write songs with this guy?” And then Matt, he was in a band called Murder By Death. And I remember them when they were Little Joe Gould. And they came into the Eyeball [Records] family through Tucker and Thursday. And I remember being like, “Wow, I thought Thursday was good. Like, holy shit, this band is unreal!” And I mean, there was completely different instrumentation. Of course, there was a cello player and keyboard player and just the things that they were doing, I think let everyone in our little microcosm know it's not just about “I got these four chords, I'm gonna write this song.” It's like, “You should and can do so much more.” And I think that kind of blew the doors off for everybody and that's when we started to really take it seriously and try to get better. I remember thinking like, “Oh man, how cool would it be to be in a band with that guy? That kid can play.”

So is it kind of weird to think in a weird way you’re sort of their boss since it’s your band?

It's weird to be in that position because I never wanted that. I've always had bands and always started bands and ended up in that position because I was the one that started it or no one else wanted to do that job so it was like, “Alright. Well, someone's got to do it, so I guess I'll do it.” But I very much love that idea of a community being like, “Alright, we're all in this together. We all have equal say.” I like the writing process of that where you bounce ideas off of each other.

So it was collaborative writing with all the members for this project?

For this one, a lot of the songs started just in my head and that's kind of how this solo project has gone. But on this record in particular, because I think we had such high caliber musicians, two songs started with ideas that my brother Even Nestor had. And two songs, one of which made the record, started with Matt. So that was a kind of a thing like, “Hey, I have this riff. Do you think we could use it?” And we would jam out on it and all of a sudden it’s a song.

Do you have a favorite song on the record?

I do [laughs].

Which one is it?

It's called “Medicine Square Garden.” It was one of those where I wrote it, had it in my head and I was like, “This is going to be really difficult to explain to someone how this song is supposed to go.” And it's either going to work or it's not. It's going to be one of those things where if it doesn't work, I'm going to be bummed because I think it's really good but I need people to like -- I don't think I could have done it with anybody else other than this bad. It's crazy. It's one of those songs that I really took a leap of faith on. And since it did pay off and it is still one of my favorite songs, I feel like that's how I knew it it was a successful record.

Getting to hear the record early, it’s interesting that after your accident, you could have gone two ways with how you wrote it: Angry and pissed off at the world or calm and just looking to get back to basics. Was that something you considered when writing Barriers?

Well I think for me, having that accident, I knew I couldn't write a record without addressing it because it was such a huge moment in my life and it changed everything. I knew I'm a different person because of it. And there was this huge elephant in the room that I knew I had to talk about and I had to address it and it had to be, if not a focal point of the record, it had to be -- just, it was there within everything I was writing so I needed something to be dedicated to it. But everything I started to write about just didn't feel right. Like I didn't feel like I was getting everything out the way you do, there's so much to say. And the words just weren't there. I would write something and be like, “that doesn't sum it up.” It's hard to sum up a life-changing experience like that. So that was kind of my wall that I had. And I didn't think I was going to be able to do a record. That's why too I was like, “You know, I'm just gonna take some time.” And it just so happened that Tucker ended up being free. Matt became free. Evan was free and then, Kayleigh Goldsworthy, who's the fifth member of the band. And that's when I was like, “Oh man, this is a sign. It’s like now or never. If I don't write the songs, then I'm gonna miss out.” So then all of a sudden, it all started to come out and this song called “Six Feet Down Under” emerged. And it's basically just my conversation with my therapist of trying to explain how I'm feeling and like, “I know you're trying to help and the things you're saying are very nice and they come from a good spot and I know you're really smart and that's really awesome but like it doesn't mean anything [laughs] if I can't believe that this is all real.” And getting that across, I think really opened the floodgates for me to be able to finish everything else.

Have you had a wall like that in your songwriting career before?

That was a huge one.

Was there anything similar to that previously?

Minor things. You know, there's some childhood things that you have a hard time fully grasping until you get older. Like the divorce of my parents and things of that nature, like trying to make sense of all that. Family, addiction and certain things that I went through. But nothing like this one, because I feel like this was -- it's weird. Childhood trauma evolves. You know, you start to see different sides of things and you've had the time -- there are some people that say “You have your entire life to write your first record” and then you have like maybe six months to write your second basically. With this one, it was still so fresh. And [the accident] happened to me in my adulthood. It happened at a time where I kind of felt like -- like, I had a family. I thought I had things figured out. And immediately [snaps] everything changed.

It shook you up a little.

Yeah, absolutely. I feel like at 25 you go crazy. 30 you're like, “Alright, I'm okay with not knowing everything.” Around 35 you’re like, “Well, I'm starting to get my shit together. And then you get hit by a bus” [laughs]. And you're like, “Oh man, I know nothing again.”

Okay, so then just wrapping up. I was wondering if your three band names -- the Cellabration, the Patience, and The Future Violents -- have any sort of connection?

So the Cellabration was, in my head, it was my first time as a solo artist and I didn't feel comfortable in that role so I wanted to bring along something that felt boisterous and exciting so that would take away from my, you know, like, “It’s just me up here. It’s weird” [feeling]. And I spelled it differently because I like the idea of it being like a cellular thing, like this building block of life and it's going to start from here and evolve and grow and change. So that's where that came from. The Patience was me kind of getting over the idea that I needed something to take away from me. I really wanted something that would kind of even me out and just that self-fulfilling prophecy of bringing this virtue along where you kind of take a step back and appreciate the now. I've spent so much time like, “What's next, what's next? Alright, this tour is going, alright, cool. I'm gonna get home here and then when I'm home, the next tour I’m going to do is this.” And it's like, you live so fast that you don't appreciate what's actually happening. And I don't want that.

And then this time around, The Future Violents, I started to think about how life is kind of this -- it's like you're staring at a lake and you can passively take it all in and see the things swimming underneath and maybe how the wind kind of takes the current. And we do that sometimes, we live vicariously through other people and sometimes, you know, just having it be serene is nice. And then the “active” way to live by is to kind of pick up a stone on the side and throw it in and see the ripples that go on and really affect it. And I think that act is a violent act that disrupts things [but] doesn't have to necessarily have a negative connotation. You know, it's about leaving a footprint and changing things and being conscious enough to want to disrupt what's there and hopefully in a positive way and see that ripple go on and affect other people and like bellow out. So, collectively, I'd like to think that the band and the people that are listening to this record are The Future Violents, the ones that go out and create a change and hopefully listen to this record that we've made -- a record that I used to break down these walls and barriers that I had set up -- and use it to destroy their own barriers and go out there and do things that scare the fuck out of you. Because that's the only time that we do something really wonderful is when we're so frightened that we're not going to do it right. And that's the best part.

#Frank Iero #Frank Iero And The Future Violents #UNFD #Interview #My Chemical Romance

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fandima-moved-read-pinned · 4 years

Note

Would it be awesome to see you do all 100 asks? Yes. Will you do them? We shall see.

Wanna bet

1: when you have cereal, do you have more milk than cereal or more cereal than milk? - More cereal than milk!

2: do you like the feeling of cold air on your cheeks on a wintery day?- No, actually. I hate the cold ^^' And if there's cold air on my cheeks then it's on my nose and that's no good

3: what random objects do you use to bookmark your books? - Usually a post it note! Not very random, but it's normally what I have on hand.

4: how do you take your coffee/tea? - Depends on my mood! Sometimes I'll take my coffee black, other times ill add a fricc ton of creamer, whipped cream, and sugar. Also sometimes I mix coffee with hot chocolate and it's amazing.

5: are you self-conscious of your smile? - Very.

6: do you keep plants? - Always. I still have the carnations from Valentines Day (which surprisingly haven't died yet)

7: do you name your plants? - Nope.

8: what artistic medium do you use to express your feelings? - just a mechanical pencil or a graphite pencil. They usually end up being sketches. But if I like how it looks I'll go over them in pen.

9: do you like singing/humming to yourself? - Yes and no? I'd do it more often but I don't want anyone to hear me. Especially my mom.

10: do you sleep on your back, side, or stomach? - Side, always facing the wall.

11: what’s an inner joke you have with your friends? - The only one I can think of off the top of my head is *slap slap slap* *jumps out window*. No I will not explain.

12: what’s your favorite planet? - Pluto! Or Make Make. Make Make used to be my favorite because me and my brother would pronounce it wrong on purpose. But Pluto is ver pretty.

13: what’s something that made you smile today? - seeing my brother's reaction to his birthday present from me! I made a little felt monkey with bushy eyebrows (I needle felted it)

14: if you were to live with your best friend in an old flat in a big city, what would it look like? - Probably very messy. But also it would constantly smell like food!

15: go google a weird space fact and tell us what it is! - Mars is shrinking. It is Smol.

16: what’s your favorite pasta dish? - Fettuccine Alfredo with Shrimp! It's what I usually ordered at Olive Garden until I found out that it was expensive and was probably stressing out my parents.

17: what color do you really want to dye your hair? - Don't laugh okay but pink! I want to dye the bottom half of my hair bright freaking pink. Like hot pink.

18: tell us about something dumb/funny you did that has since gone down in history between you and your friends and is always brought up. - That time I slapped a guy twice for picking me up. That guy was my best friend. He picked me up from behind and I sorta whipped around and slapped him. The first time he didn't put me down, he just laughed. So I slapped him again. He got the hint.

19: do you keep a journal? what do you write/draw/ in it?- I don't. I tried a while back, but I figured it would be easier just to talk to people about my issues instead of writing them down.

20: what’s your favorite eye color? - Green. Or dark brown.

21: talk about your favorite bag, the one that’s been to hell and back with you and that you love to pieces. - Not sure what this means, sorry. I've got this pencil pouch that has a tree print on it that I've used for a few years now even though it has a hole it it. Does that count?

22: are you a morning person? - No. I wake up at 5:30 am on weekdays and usually don't get out of bed until I have ten minutes to get ready and leave.

23: what’s your favorite thing to do on lazy days where you have 0 obligations? - Stay in my room and draw! Although I don't have lazy days. Every time my mom comes upstairs I immediately start cleaning because if I don't she'll yell at me for being lazy.

24: is there someone out there you would trust with every single one of your secrets? - Yes. Take a look at who sent this ask. Also my other two online friends! One of them I spam with worms on a string and the other I just know I can trust and I don't know why.

25: what’s the weirdest place you’ve ever broken into? - the only place I've broken into is my own house. I had to climb the backyard fence to go through the back door because me and my brother forgot our keys.

26: what are the shoes you’ve had for forever and wear with every single outfit? - My plain black tennis shoes. I need to get new ones because these ones are old and barely fit but every time I mention it, it's like I never said a word.

27: what’s your favorite bubblegum flavor? - Candy Cane!

28: sunrise or sunset? - Sunset! I get to see the sun setting behind the Rocky Mountains and it's really pretty.

29: what’s something really cute that one of your friends does and is totally endearing? - exist

30: think of it: have you ever been truly scared? - Yes. I'd rather not talk about it.

31: what is your opinion of socks? do you like wearing weird socks? do you sleep with socks? do you confine yourself to white sock hell? really, just talk about socks. - socks can burn in hell for all I care. I hate socks. I only wear them if I have to (like while wearing shoes)

32: tell us a story of something that happened to you after 3AM when you were with friends. - I remember being at a sleepover a few days before I moved (this was in South Korea) and I woke up at 3:34 am (yes I remember the time don't ask why) because one of my friends was playing Megalovania on the keyboard. Then she turned around and asked who the hell took her pretzels. They were under her pillow.

33: what’s your fave pastry? - c w a s o a n t (with jelly inside!)

34: tell us about the stuffed animal you kept as a kid. what is it called? what does it look like? do you still keep it? - I still have this stuffed animal now (I have all of my stuffed animals. I haven't brought myself to get rid of them). It's a little pink blanket with a bunny head named Squeek. Not Squeak. I didn't know how to spell that.

35: do you like stationary and pretty pens and so on? do you use them often? - No. I don't have any.

36: which band’s sound would fit your mood right now? - https://youtu.be/7TqLXIBG-6g not a band but still

37: do you like keeping your room messy or clean? - Messy! It may sound strange, but I can't find anything when it's clean. It also feels empty unless I've got stuff all over the floor.

38: tell us about your pet peeves! - When I tell remind someone of the rules and they say "okay" and continue breaking them. Like we aren't supposed to put pans in the dishwasher because it ruins the pans. Yet my brother always puts them in there. I remind him and take it out, and he says "okay" and puts it back. I also hate it when I ask someone to stop doing something (usually when it's making me nervous or upset) and they ask "WhY?" in a really annoying tone and keep doing it. I ALSO hate it when I'm in charge and yet no one listens to me.

I also don't like it when no one says thank you. It makes it seem like they don't appreciate me.

39: what color do you wear the most? - Grey. I want to wear colorful clothes but the last time we went clothes shopping and I asked for pastel colors, I walked out of the store with grey, light grey, brown, and dark blue clothes.

40: think of a piece of jewelry you own: what’s it’s story? does it have any meaning to you? - I have a locket that I made for my seventh birthday. It has little charms in it (a rose, my first initial, a heart key, and a birthday cake) and it's gold. I love it and I don't know why.

41: what’s the last book you remember really, really loving? - There's a book series that I don't remember the name of but it's about a girl who is forcibly turned into a siren by three other sirens. She has to eat human hearts to live. It's kinda gorey, kinda romantic, lots of action. I love it.

42: do you have a favorite coffee shop? describe it! - Unfortunately no, I usually get coffee at a gas station ^^'

43: who was the last person you gazed at the stars with? - My dog Freyja! Whenever I take out trash, she comes with, and when the sky is clear I like to point out the starts with her before we go back inside. She's very sweet. But I can't stargaze for more than a minute.

44: when was the last time you remember feeling completely serene and at peace with everything? - Last year I went on a trip to Florida to stay with my grandparents for a week. I remember waking up one morning with a beautiful view of the ocean and the sound of waves crashing onto the shore. My grandparents have an apartment of sorts that faces the Atlantic and you can literally go down the stairs and go swim in the ocean if you want to, it's like a two minute walk, not even. I love the ocean and the sound of waves and seagulls is always calming to me. But my house is very loud and there's no peace here.

45: do you trust your instincts a lot? - Yes. When I have a bad feeling about something, I address it. It's not always true, but I don't want to risk anything.

46: tell us the worst pun you can think of. - Sorry, I don't know many puns. I guess I'm just not a pun-ny person.

47: what food do you think should be banned from the universe? - fucking macaroni with bread crumsb that shit is nasty af

48: what was your biggest fear as a kid? is it the same today? - Storms, especially tornados. Now my biggest fear is death. Whether I'm the one dying or its someone I care about.

49: do you like buying CDs and records? what was the last one you bought? - Not really, I don't have money to buy anything ^^' Even when I do have money, I spend it on art stuff. That reminds me that I need to fix my radio.

50: what’s an odd thing you collect? - Fabric. I have so much and I don't even use it. But when I see a nice fabric, I get it (if I have money).

51: think of a person. what song do you associate with them? - 'Old Timer Rock and Roll' (probably not the name of it) always reminds me of my dad. One day we were driving in his Jeep, just us two, and I mentioned that I wasn't a fan of the music on the radio. We ended up compromising and that song was the first one on the radio station that we switched to.

52: what are your favorite memes of the year so far? - I am unfortunately not up to date with the memes. Although the ones where it's like "you've mc-ed your last Donald" or "you've ratted your last tatouille" always make me exhale aggressively.

53: have you ever watched the rocky horror picture show? heathers? beetlejuice? pulp fiction? what do you think of them? - None of the above! I've been wanting to watch Heather's though. I just never get around to doing it.

54: who’s the last person you saw with a true look of sadness on their face? - My brother. Not the same one from before.

55: what’s the most dramatic thing you’ve ever done to prove a point? - nothing, sorry. I'm not very dramatic.

56: what are some things you find endearing in people? - when they pour their heart out about a certain subject that they love. I know a lot of people tend to bottle up their opinions but when someone trusts me aniugh to tell me all about it, it's just sorta nice.

57: go listen to bohemian rhapsody. how did it make you feel? did you dramatically reenact the lyrics? - I just sorta spaced out for the first have then did a little dance for the rest of it. I love the line "I see a little silhouetto of a man" and it's more upbeat and the music just makes me dance a little

58: who’s the wine mom and who’s the vodka aunt in your group of friends? why? - bold of you to assume I have a group of friends

59: what’s your favorite myth? - There's this one I heard as a kid that involves a faceless girl on the side of a highway who tries to steal faces.

60: do you like poetry? what are some of your faves? - I can't think of any off the top of my head, but poetry is nice!

61: what’s the stupidest gift you’ve ever given? the stupidest one you’ve ever received? - I don't really remember. I try to only give gifts that are meaningful.

62: do you drink juice in the morning? which kind? - nope! I usually drink milk!

63: are you fussy about your books and music? do you keep them meticulously organized or kinda leave them be? - I usually leave my music to its own devices, but all the books are organized by series and genre.

64: what color is the sky where you are right now? - Blue! Just any other afternoon sky.

65: is there anyone you haven’t seen in a long time who you’d love to hang out with? - My older brother. We don't get to talk much.

66: what would your ideal flower crown look like? - Colorful, with a few white flowers!

67: how do gloomy days where the sky is dark and the world is misty make you feel? - Those are usually the days that I don't feel anything.

68: what’s winter like where you live? - The weather is all over the place. A little snow, then the next day, it's like 60°F. Not even joking. It snowed Friday and Saturday was warm.

69: what are your favorite board games? - Monopoly and Battleship!

70: have you ever used a ouija board? - No, but I really want to. But my dad won't let me.

71: what’s your favorite kind of tea? - I don't really drink tea, sorry!

72: are you a person who needs to note everything down or else you’ll forget it? - Nope. I'll forget it anyway. I usually set alarms for certain things but then I don't do it.

73: what are some of your worst habits? - Biting the inside of my cheek and scratching/pinching my arm when I'm nervous.

74: describe a good friend of yours without using their name or gendered pronouns. - kind, a good listener, talented, and understanding

75: tell us about your pets! - We have four dogs. There's Emrys (the dog I've posted pictures of before), Cirilla (a husky German Shepard mix, very sweet), Cayde-6 (a Rottweiler mix I think, super energetic, loud, and steals food off the counter even when someone is watching), and Freyja (a German Shepard mix, puppy, also very sweet! She knows the phrase 'give hugs' and she always comes with me to take out the trash for whatever reason). I also have a Guinea Pig (who I want to get a friend for because she's lonely, but my parents keep saying no) names Neo.

76: is there anything you should be doing right now but aren’t? - Working on my Someconsious series, cleaning, and probably checking in with some friends.

77: pink or yellow lemonade? - Pink

78: are you in the minion hateclub or Fan club? - Hate club. I don't like them. They're just annoying and bright and their language is stupid to me.

79: what’s one of the cutest things someone has ever done for you? - One of my exes surprised me with a cars and roses out of nowhere. It wasn't Valentines Day, it wasn't my birthday, he just went out of his way to do something nice for me when I was having a rough week.

80: what color are your bedroom walls? did you choose that color? if so, why? - They're a sort of off white. I want to paint them light lavender or pale blue but my parents have only painted the living room and refuse to paint anywhere else for whatever reason. I know we can afford paint, I know we have time. They just stopped caring.

81: describe one of your friend’s eyes using the most abstract imagery you can think of. - Not sure what it means by abstract, but I'll try. Her eyes are similar to the bottom of a small river. The brown in the middle with green rings on the edges remind me of a river I used to go fishing in back in Oklahoma.

82: are/were you good in school? - I'm okay. I have all A's and B's, but I have easy subjects that aren't very hard.

83: what’s some of your favorite album art? - I don't really listen to albums, my music taste is mostly individual songs. Even then I don't really pay attention to the art.

84: are you planning on getting tattoos? which ones? - I want to get a quote of sort on my ankle. Something in another language so I can tell them it means something mysterious and deep when in reality it's the description of a toaster oven that hasn't been cleaned since 1995.

85: do you read comics? what are your faves? - I read a few webcomics if that counts! I like Castle Swimmer a lot! Gay fish bapeys are best fish bapeys.

86: do you like concept albums? which ones? - I don't know what those are, sorry

87: what are some movies you think everyone should watch at least once in their lives? - The Princess Bride and the Last Unicorn. But I'm biased because they're both a part of my childhood.

88: are there any artistic movements you particularly enjoy? - not in particular!

89: are you close to your parents? - I'm only close with my dad. My stepmom can go fuck herself. She just told us that's she'll be making a schedule for the next two weeks because there won't be school. One of the weeks was spring break anyway! We aren't missing much!

90: talk about your one of you favorite cities. - I like Palm Beach in Florida! It's fairly quiet, right next to the ocean, and filled with retired people who are all really nice.

91: where do you plan on traveling this year? - Nowhere, we don't travel much. I really want to go to Florida again though.

92: are you a person who drowns their pasta in cheese or a person who barely sprinkles a pinch? - I don't add cheese at all! It sort of ruins the texture for me. Especially the grated sprinkle cheese stuff l. I hate now it feels.

93: what’s the hairstyle you wear the most? - I just keep my hair down. I don't like it in any other way.

94: who was the last person you know to have a birthday? - My brother. His birthday is today!

95: what are your plans for this weekend? - cry a lot cry some more lose feelings for a few hours draw watch YouTube art videos then try not to yell at my mom like I did last week

96: do you install your computer updates really quickly or do you procrastinate on them a lot? - I just get it over with so I can do whatever needs to be done. Or I schedule it for when I'm not going to be using it.

97: myer briggs type, zodiac sign, and hogwarts house? - INFP-T/Mediator, Scorpio, and Hufflepuff

98: when’s the last time you went hiking? did you enjoy it?- A few weeks ago. And no, I did not enjoy it considering I was supposed to be working on an important project that day.

99: list some songs that resonate to your soul whenever you hear them. - Where We Started, If You're Going Through Hell, and We Like to Numb (a mix of We Like to Party and Numb)

100: if you were presented with two buttons, one that allows you to go 5 years into the past, the other 5 years into the future, which one would you press? why? - Future. In five years I plan on being in college and I want to see what I should be prepared for and if my interests have changed.

This took me at least an hour and a half. Thank you though! I

#Long Post #Aven Answers #tw cursing

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universalfanfic · 5 years

Text

*tears streaming down my face*

I ... did it. ... I wrote something. There is relief in my soul.

Here is my continuation of @gracieinanovel‘s Wedding Planner AU, because I love it and I needed to join in. :)

Cora belongs to her, of course.

Sutton froze over the table, fingers reaching, and Cora wasn’t sure if the woman had meant to try and flee the room or attempt strangling her. Her face was blooming the most vibrant red, and it appeared it took some effort to remove her tongue from the roof of her mouth.

“Steve!” Sutton finally managed to squeak. “Hi. I’m- I’m good. You? I mean, how have you been?”

“Good. Good.”

Cora almost felt bad about springing this on her. Almost. But if Sutton had gone the entirety of her Paris trip without contacting Steve, then this was on her. She obviously needed a push.

Steve still looked morose and longing as he shifted further into the room. It must have still been raining, because he looked just as wet as Cora did coming in.

“Perhaps Steve would like a drink?” Cora prompted.

Sutton jumped at the direction and opportunity to have something to do.

“Right; of course! I have some coffee. Coffee good?”

There was a coffee pot behind the counter; it was still half full and probably should be either poured out or drank before it burned.

“Do you want a sweet too,” she called out over pouring a mug. “I have a new cupcake-”

“Oh, just coffee is fine. Thank you.”

Steve rubbed his hand through his wet hair and pulled a chair over to their table. Sutton’s expression flickered before settling back on a forced smile.

“Ok.”

Cora internally groaned.

Watching them interact was like watching two junior highers dance around each other. She’d thought after Steve’s confession things would move forward between them, but Sutton’s doubts about his sincerity and then her internship felt like it’d dragged them three steps back again.

But there was time for the both of them later. Cora reorganized the paperwork she’d brought and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. This was still a business meeting, after all.

They ought to get something done.

Sutton sat awkwardly between Steve and Cora, unable to scoot her chair away from him without being obvious, and she passed over his mug as she cleared her throat.

“So, you probably know who the wedding is for.”

“I might,” he said. “But I might have also signed a non-disclosure.”

Both Cora and Sutton groaned in response.

“I suppose that just leaves us to figure out the details,” Cora relented. “So, which rooms will we be using, and what are our times?”

They discussed timing and plans and room ambiance. The wedding ceremony was going to be held on the main balcony overlooking the bay, with plenty of twinkling lights and foliage covering the space. The reception would be held in the estates most lavish room, fondly referred to as The Fondue Room due to the high rental costs.

Eventually, one of them yawned and they noticed the time. The rain had pittered to a spitting mist and the moon rose higher. Sutton collected their empty mugs while Cora collected her files.

“Well, that’s more progress,” she said, forced cheer in her voice.

Steve and Sutton both nodded, sneaking a look at each other before turning away again quickly.

“I guess we’ll see each other at the wedding.” Sutton glanced between the pair, rubbing nervously at her sore knuckles. “Unless Fury gives you a free moment before then,” she added hopefully, directed towards Cora.

“Oh, I wish, but I’m afraid I can’t count on it.” Cora smiled ruefully. “You know how Fury is, and with this wedding booked he’s been more frantic than usual. Obviously, because I’m here at this time of night.”

Sutton looked disappointed, but not surprised.

“I’m telling you,” she said, “you have to start your own business. You’ve got the talent for it, and it’s probably the only way you’ll get your freedom.”

Cora made a face and shrugged.

“I don’t know,” she said. “At the rate I’m working, anyway, it’d be impossible to find the time.”

Steve cleared his throat and Sutton finally looked at him, shifting on her feet.

“It, uh, was nice seeing you again too. Steve.”

“Yeah. You’ll have to tell me about your trip sometime.”

“Right, sure!”

Cora winced, but luckily the expression went unnoticed by the other two. She and Steve exited together and Sutton bid them both a goodnight, locking up before moving through the shop to prep for another early morning.

The quiet night air settled around them and Steve let out a long sigh as he ran his hand through his hair again.

“Well,” he said, “that… happened.”

Cora placed a hand on his arm.

“Hey, everything is going to work out.”

“Three months,” he said. “I just- is it because we-?”

“What? Went on one date?” Cora laughed lightly. “Steve, please. Sutton can just be a nervous person. She thinks-”

At her pause Steve looked over, his eyes prompting her to continue, and Cora shook her head.

“You both will have to talk if you want this worked out. Now, I better get at least a couple hours of sleep before Fury decides to blow my phone up again. I’ll see you at the wedding.”

Steve sighed and dug in his pocket for his keys.

“Drive safe,” he said.

He waited until Cora was in her car with the doors locked before he started up his own car. Their headlights disappeared into the night and the low lights in the bakery popped off shortly afterwards.

[]

The bell in the shop rung as Sutton pushed open the door to Banner’s Botanicals; the smell of soil and fragrant flowers were heady in the air.

“I’ll be one moment!”

“Take your time, Bruce.”

A head of dark wavy hair popped up from behind a shelving unit holding some sort of flowering cacti, and Sutton reached her hand up to wave.

“Long time, no see. Not going to lie. I thought you were really done for good this time.”

Bruce Banner pushed around some nearby ferns as he made his way to the front of the shop.

“Hey Sutton,” he said. “So did I. But apparently I can still be coerced.”

He frowned at that, and Sutton suppressed a wry smile. Bruce could be stubborn, sure, but he was also a bit of a peacekeeper. It took quite a bit to actually get him to explode.

“I’m guessing they at least weren’t asking for lil-” “Don’t.” He cut in sharply. “Don’t mention the lilies.”

Sutton held her hands up in surrender and chuckled.

“Ok. But I would like to see what they did ask for. I’m supposed to incorporate some floral aspects into their cake.”

He sent her a look before letting out a breath of air and waving her to follow him to the back of the shop.

“You and Cora,” he said. “You know there’s a thing called email? You can attach pictures? Or maybe even use google?”

“Sure,” said Sutton. “But this gets us out of our offices for a bit. And anyway, isn’t technology just ruining face-to-face interactions?”

Bruce rolled his eyes.

The further back in the shop, the more expensive the plants got. And for a man who’d sworn to only work with succulents from now on, he sure had a selection of flowers at his disposal.

“The bride wanted whimsical but elegant,” he said. “And for once, there was even a list of suggestions to work from. We decided on white wisteria, some assorted peonies, and a few gardenias sprinkled throughout. And greenery, of course. I’m thinking mostly ferns. Probably some Israeli Ruscus.”

Sutton ooh-ed over the samples and took out her phone to get some pictures. His selection of plants were second-to-none. No doubt that was the reason this mystery couple chose him. And they certainly had some cash on them, because he was making an example bouquet as well.

“Can I get a few small samples to take back? Are you still selling individual stems?”

“Do you have any samples?”

Bruce flashed her a cheeky grin and Sutton returned it.

“All my friends are opportunists,” she lamented. Still, she pulled a small paper box out of her purse and taunted him with it. “I thought you might like some inspiration as well.”

They exchanged goods, one looking a tad more excited than the other. Sutton sighed as she eyed the delicate petals and the complicated layering of the wisteria.

“I might be ordering some of these from you. Their order expressly stated little to no fondant on the cake. And these?”

She made a tsk-ing sound against her teeth and shook her head. Bruce spared her a pitying glance until he looked back to his set of cupcakes, and grinned.

“At least you know they have good taste. Fondant is gross.”

Sutton raised a stern pointer finger as she sucked in a breath.

“Ok, listen-”

[]

Cora nibbled at her bottom lip as she used a spare, quiet moment to do some personal research. It wasn’t that this particular wedding was giving her an odd feeling, she’d worked a few weddings that had demanded discretion, but generally she could accurately guess who it was for.

There wasn’t anything in the celebrity gossip tabloids that mentioned possible weddings coming up, no matter how thoroughly she looked. Boo. She supposed she’d just have to wait for the big day to find out the big secret. She pouted and drummed her fingers on her laptop as the digging stopped at a dead end.

Her notebook was just to the left of her computer and she could see that name amongst the rest of her notes.

Loki Laufeyson.

She still didn’t understand how one person could’ve garnered such a negative reaction out of Sutton, and so far she hadn’t had the opportunity to really pry into why. Cora cocked one eyebrow and tilted her head as her fingers danced over her keyboard.

Well, she still had a moment. Why not look?

His website was sleek and clean, with accents of dark green and gold adding a sense of wealth and elegance to the layout. He was the sort of wedding coordinator that you had to call to ask about his rates, which generally meant the average person shouldn’t even bother.

From his gallery, it seemed he’d been involved in some high profile weddings and other various events. Cora hummed. There wasn’t anything that she could glean from his about page to give her any hints.

Even if he was wildly arrogant and obnoxious, Sutton probably would have just said he was a character, or annoying.

“Are you sitting? At a time like this?”

Cora jumped at Fury’s voice as he swept into the room, camera bags and a tripod precariously cradled in his arms.

“Do you know how many jobs we have to complete? There’s the party on the seventeenth, the charity event coming up, and that mo-”

“Yes,” Cora cut in. “The wedding, I know.” She hopped up and closed her notebook, gathering all her things and making herself busy. “I have everything under control, sir.”

Fury shot her a piercing look, which was always impressive given he only had one eye.

“Under control isn’t good enough. This wedding could be what really launches this business into the public eye. Everything has to be perfect. Which is why you’re going to meet up with that Laufeyson and get all the details sorted out. Got it?”

Cora wanted to give him a flippant salute, but she still did need the paycheck. Instead, she grit her teeth behind closed lips and forced a smile.

“Crystal clear, sir.”

Well, perhaps she’d get some answers about this guy sooner than she thought.

#friends oc #oc: cora #my writing #oc crossover #wedding planner au #i hope you don't mind!!#I love cora and i feel so bad for her #poor babe #literally working night and day

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nicoleknows-nothing · 5 years

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Pucks Deep (Mark Scheifele Fan Fiction - CHAPTER TWO)

CONFUSED? START HERE, READER >> INTRO & CHAPTER ONE

Mark Scheifele, #55 of the Winnipeg Jets. Born in Kitchener, Ontario, drafted back in 2011 and signed an eight-year deal with the Jets in 2016. He plays centre, serves as an alternate captain, and shoots with his right hand. He also played for team Canada in the 2012 World Juniors and team North America in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Last season, he played sixty games in the regular season, scored twenty-three goals and assisted in thirty-seven for a total of sixty points. His six-foot-three, 207-pound frame is the perfect bulk for winning battles--

“When are you going to stop Googling him?” Ruby walked into the kitchen, heading straight to the Keurig machine to make a cup of coffee.

I turned away from my laptop, adjusting my glasses from falling off of my face.

“Until I know his whole life story.” I protested, taking a sip of my cold earl grey tea.

I had been up since six in the morning, as well as sitting at my laptop for most of the day before, researching everything I could about Mark Scheifele. I've been on Wikipedia, the NHL website, Instagram, Tumblr, Reddit, YouTube; I found so much information already, I could start writing an autobiography for him.

“I have an idea.” Ruby sat down beside me at the kitchen table, the smell of her hot hazelnut coffee filled my nose, giving me a boost of energy. “Why don't you text him instead of being an internet stalker?”

“I'm not ready yet.” I bluntly answered, tapping away at my keyboard.

“It's been 48 hours.”

“I just--” I sighed. “What if he doesn't answer back? Or he pretends that he doesn't know who I am? Or he does text back and says that giving me his number was a mistake?”

“He’s not going to do that, Neens! If he didn’t want to give you his number, he wouldn’t have done it in the first place,” Ruby tried to assure me. I ignored it and started to look in my internet history to find a page I found earlier about Mark’s past relationships. I showed it to Ruby. “His ex-girlfriend is a freestyle skier. She won a gold medal in Sochi! How do I compete with that?!”

Ruby slammed my laptop shut.

“Okay, listen to me.” She grabbed my shoulders and forced me to look her straight in the eye. “First of all, You’re doing that thing when you over analyze situations in your head and you psych yourself out. You need to stop, it's not healthy.”

“Second of all, forget all of the other girls. He wants to talk to you, he wants to get to know YOU. Gold Medal Girl who? She's got nothing on you! You are talented in so many other ways that can easily impress him! You just need to get out of your own head and you need to text him!”

Ruby is the perfect hype-woman, and she was right. Before I knew who Mark really was, he was just the really cute guy at the bar. He was nice and out of all of the women in the room, he gave me a chance. Now, I just know a little bit more about him...maybe I know a bit too much but I shouldn't let it cloud my judgement. However, there was one thing I was having trouble with.

“What do I even say?” I asked, twirling my cell phone around in my hand.

“You could start with 'Hey, it's Nina?’” Ruby suggested.

I stopped playing around with my phone and laid it on the kitchen table, concentrating my gaze on it. I stared at it for so long that I was hoping I could send the text with my mind because my fingers were an anxious, shaking mess.

“It's not too early is it?” I looked around the kitchen for the time, even though I know there isn't a clock in the kitchen.

“It's 9:30 AM, he's probably up by now.” She grabbed my phone and put it back in my hands. “Do it.”

I unlocked it and opened the draft I had been sitting on for the last two days. All you have to do is say hi, and then the rest will follow…

Hey, it's Nina :) ...and send!

“There. Done.” I put my phone back down on the table and took another sip of my tea. I felt a mild sense of relief but was still apprehensive of the text I would get back.

Within moments, my phone was ringing. I checked the caller ID and choked on my tea.

“It's Mark!” I coughed through the liquid stuck in my throat, which was followed by instant panic. “What do I do? I'm not ready for this! TALKING IS HARD! WHAT DO I DO!?”

“ANSWER THE PHONE!” Ruby picked up my phone, swiped the green icon, and shoved it in my face.

“H-h-hello?” I stammered.

“Hey Nina, it's Mark!” He could hear me coughing up a lung in the background. “Are you okay? Is this a bad time?”

“No, not at all!” I finally cleared my throat and got up from my chair to pace around the kitchen. “I'm surprised you called me, and so quick.”

“I’m driving at the moment and didn’t want to make you think I was ignoring you.” He explained. On the phone, his voice sounds sweet but gravelly at the same time. “To be honest I was excited you messaged me, it's already made my day.”

I went blank, my brain didn’t want to construct sentences. What was the English language? My response consisted of saying ‘uhh,’ ‘cool,’ and ‘yeah’ in between girlish giggles for what felt like a century. Then finally I managed to spit some words out.

“Well, it's a pretty cool number, I couldn't wait to call it...” Ruby looked at me perplexed, even my mouth was questioning what kind of word vomit was that.

“Thanks! I've never gotten a compliment about my phone number before.” Mark laughed on the other end. “So, what are you up to today?”

“Nothing too exciting, just chilling out with the roommates.” More like isolating myself in my bedroom, eating leftover Vietnamese takeout, and playing ranked matches on Rocket League. “What about you?”

“Well, I’m on my way to the Iceplex for practice. It's open to the public today if you and your roommates are interested in coming.”

“Uhhh…” I looked over at Ruby who was hopping in place with a big smile on her face and giving two thumbs up. “Yeah, sounds like fun. We'll be there.”

“Great! I can't wait!”

We said our goodbyes and as soon as I got off the phone Ruby and I were bouncing around the kitchen,

“See? That wasn't so bad!” She reassured. “He even said he was excited to hear from you!”

“I said weird things but it’s okay because he still wants to see me!” I cheered. Heather came into the kitchen and stared at the two of us screaming like teenagers who were about to see One Direction on their reunion tour.

“What are you guys so excited about?” Heather croaked while making herself a cup of tea. I stopped jumping around to notice the redness around her nose, pale skin, and bags under her eyes.

“We just got invited to go watch gorgeous guys play hockey!” Ruby squealed, ignoring the state of our friend.

“Ugh, no thanks.” Heather sniffled. “Cold rink. Cold weather. I’m staying in bed, drinking an entire bottle of Nyquil and binge watching Game of Thrones.”

“I’ll help you back to bed.” I offered, walking with Heather back to her room and tucking her into bed. “Feel better, okay? And if you need anything, text me.”

By the time I put the first episode on for her, she was passed out. I walked back into the kitchen to see Ruby getting off of the phone.

“What are you doing? Why are you not dressed yet?” She asked, pushing me into my bedroom and digging into my dresser. “You need to get all dolled up for your sexy hockey man!”

“I could ask you the same thing. Who were you on the phone with?” I overturned her question. Ruby was holding up shirts to my chest and throwing clothing all over the place.

“Our third…” She quickly changed the subject, looking at my burgundy crew neck sweatshirt. “Oooh, this is cute! Wear this!”

Who is ‘our third?’

---

“I'm so happy you guys invited me!” Simon locked his lifted Dodge Ram 1500 with his fob key. “Do you think Big Buff will sign my Jets hat?”

The ride to the Bell MTS Iceplex was an event all in itself. I was scared for those driving around us because Simon almost got us into THREE accidents, including narrowly missing a family crossing the street in the Unicity area. I never sunk so low in a seat as Simon got berated by the father for driving irresponsibly. Probably didn't help that he was blasting heavy metal the entire way down Portage Avenue, as well as looking at his phone to see if a girl he gave his number to at Cowboy's answered him back. He also decided that it would be a fun idea to quickly do donuts in the empty parking lot by Assiniboine Downs, adding nausea to my already crippling anxiety. As soon as he had his truck parked at the Iceplex, I beelined it for the door, distancing myself as far as I could from Simon and Ruby.

I instantly regretted my decision to split from Simon and Ruby. The Iceplex was crowded, a sea of dark blue and white jerseys covered the first floor of the building and continued up the staircase to the second floor. It was worse right by the entrance; groups of eager kids pushing by eager adults to make their way into the Canadian Tire arena where the practice was being held. I could feel myself getting antsy waiting for those two slowpokes to get in here. Finally, Ruby and Simon walked in and I pulled them to the side to avoid the large crowd of fans.

“How are we going to get into the arena?” I asked, my breath short from feeling claustrophobic.

“There are bleachers in the balcony. Usually, people like to be by the rink so they can get stuff signed.” Simon explained, grabbing mine and Ruby’s hands and pulling us forward. “Follow me!”

We bulldozed through the crowd, getting dragged to the second floor to the entrance of the balcony. I watched as Simon pushed his way down to the front row of bleachers and found seats right in the middle, receiving dirty looks from every single person he blew by.

“Any time now, girls!” He waved us over. I started to feel a bit grateful that Simon tagged along. I could never be as adamant or pushy as he is. He could care less.

We sat down as the team was about to start doing drills. I sat there quietly, observing which way the puck was going and trying to figure out why the players were wearing either a red, blue, or white jersey. This was already confusing to me. I asked Simon what the deal was.

“The red jerseys are the defensemen. And the white and blue jersey are the forwards.” He explained.

“But why white AND blue? Why not just two colours?”

“Well, the different lines can be split by colour. Or if they're practicing in their special teams, the power play line is one colour and the penalty killing line is the other.”

I tried to let the information sink in…”I don't get it.”

“Haha it's okay, don't worry about it right now.” Simon shifted my head towards the northern part of the rink. “Just watch your dude go!”

My eyes immediately found Mark on the ice. He was wearing a white jersey and talking to one of the red jersey guys by the boards. A whistle blew and he made his way to the middle of the ice with a few other players. I watched in awe as the whistle blew again and his feet glided across the icy surface with quick precision. The puck was passed to him; the control he had was flawless, manoeuvring around and keeping it away from the other players. He gave the puck away to another white jersey on the other side of the ice and advanced closer to the goal. The puck was sent back to him again; it barely touched the blade of his stick when he took his shot. The puck went in, flying over the goalie’s shoulder and into the top left corner of the net. Applause erupted in the small arena. I clapped as well, blending into the crowd because I wasn’t the type of person to make a big deal about a practice goal...but Ruby was.

“WHOO! LET’S GO #55!” She shouted, her arms straight in the air while jumping from her seat and standing on the bleachers. Oh my god…

“Ruby! Get down!” I grabbed her by the bottom of her black zip-up hoodie and pulled her down.

I looked back at the ice and there was Mark, looking up at us as he skated by. His crystal blue eyes instantly found mine in a crowd of hundreds, the connection creating an electric current inside of me. My face felt flush as I smirked meekly and waved at him from above. He winked, his guard hanging out of the corner of his mouth.

As strange as it sounds, him chewing on a dental appliance was really attractive. I don’t know why or how, but the image somehow flicked a switch in my brain that made the conclusive decision; it was hot, like mucho caliente.

Once practice was over, the team spent an hour interacting with the fans; answering questions, taking pictures, and signing anything a person had on them. I overheard one guy say he had the whole team sign his chest and was heading to Living Canvas right after to get their names tattooed. I decided to sit outside of the arena by myself around the concession area, staying away from the frenzy. Simon was busy getting autographs on his snapback and Ruby wanted to wander around the facility.

Twenty minutes after the crowd died down, I got a text from Mark.

Hey! Are you still here?

I replied. Yup! Sitting at the concession.

Cool! Be out there soon.

I quickly tapped on the camera of my phone and checked my makeup and hair. Everything looked good, that was until Ruby came up behind me and threw a grey knitted toque on my head.

“Ta-da! Your first piece of Jets merch!” She beamed. “All you need is your man’s jersey and you’re set!”

“Thanks, Ruby!” I adjusted the toque on my head and stood up from my chair to strike a pose. “How does it look?”

Before she could say a word, a voice behind me spoke up.

“It looks good on you.”

I turned around and saw Mark, standing tall despite being active on the ice for the last two hours. His fingers ran through his damp, cool brown hair, swooping it to the side before placing his hands in the pockets of his charcoal sweatpants. His hockey bag slung over his right shoulder, the strap pulling at the sleeve of his cobalt blue Nike sweater.

“Hi.” he grinned.

“Hi…” We stood in silence for a moment, admiring each other. Ruby instantly got uncomfortable.

“Well, I’m gonna leave you two alone and go find Simon.” She was about to walk away when Mark was snapped out of his trance.

“Speaking of your friend Simon, he actually got escorted out of the building a while ago.” He told the two of us.

Ruby’s eyebrows went up in confusion, I deeply sighed in disappointment.

“What did he do?” We asked in unison.

“He snuck into the dressing room pretending he was from the Free Press, but today wasn’t a media day so everybody was kind of confused as to why he was there,” Mark explained, laughing about the situation. “He’s okay though, he told me he was gonna wait by his truck.”

“Okay then, I will meet you at the truck.” Ruby decided.

“Actually, if it’s okay with you…” Mark interjected. “I can drive Nina home later. I was thinking we could grab a bite to eat because I am starving.”

“Yeah, I’m okay with that.” I agreed. The combination of anxiety bubbles and butterflies in the pit of my stomach was starting to make me hungry.

“As long as she is home at a decent time, then it is fine with me.” Ruby wagged her finger at the two of us like an overprotective mother. “And no funny business!”

We parted ways with Ruby as we left the Iceplex. I watched her make kissy faces from outside the truck while Simon wrapped his arms around his body and proceeded to make out with himself. Those two...

“I'm parked over here.” Mark pointed towards the west side of the building.

Was this really happening? Am I actually on a 'sort-of’ date with a professional hockey player right now? Did I brush my teeth this morning? How bad is my breath? How red is my face? I don't know if it's from the cold temperature in the rink or from me blushing so much. I think i'm sweating, do I smell okay? Will he noticed if I take a quick whiff of my armpit?

He's looking at me. My god, he's pretty. His strong jawline, the subtle stubble of his goatee, his long eyelashes... Have I been staring for too long? How long have I been silent? I'm over analyzing again, say something for the love of God!

“Wooooords…” I said that out loud… Where's the nearest hole?

“What was that?” He asked, chuckling. I stayed silent, fearing that I would say something stupid again.

We stopped in front of a sleek silver SUV. I have watched way too many David Dobrik videos to immediately recognize the make of the car.

“You have a Tesla Model X!?” My mouth dropped open and eyes wide in wonder. Mark double clicked on the back of his key fob and the trunk opened.

“Pretty neat, huh?” He threw his hockey bag in the trunk and clicked another button. The side doors lifted up over my head and floated back down moments later. “I like opening the falcon doors for fun sometimes.”

“Cool!!” I marvelled. Mark came to the passenger side of the car and open the door for me.

“Your chariot awaits…”

#mark scheifele #mark scheifele fan fic #mark scheifele fan fiction #still have no title #sue me #creative writing #winnipeg jets #winnipeg jets fan fiction #nina mendoza oc #hockey fan fiction #chapter two #my work

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Best Tech Holiday Gifts for Black Friday

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

What’s better than a new getting a cool new gadget during the holidays? A new PC to game on, a brand new phone that doubles as a high-tech camera, a virtual reality headset that lets you explore game worlds like never before, or maybe you just want a bluetooth mug that keeps your coffee and tea at the right temperature. When it comes to cool tech gifts, the possibilities are truly endless!

In fact, there’s almost too much choice. That’s why we’ve picked out the best tech gifts you can buy in various categories, from phones and PC gaming to wearables and streaming equipment. And while you’ll find plenty of top-of-the-line gadgets in devices on this list, you’ll find quite a few budget-friendly options!

Editor’s note: Den of Geek may receive a small commission from items purchased through the links in this story.

So, without further ado, here are Den of Geek’s picks for the best tech gifts for 2020:

PC Gaming

Presented by be quiet!

be quiet! Pure Base 500DX ATX case – $110

If you’ve recently picked up a next-gen GPU, things are likely to get a little hot when running games at ultra settings. That means you need plenty of space inside your case and powerful internal fans to keep things cool while you play. be quiet! – as the name suggests – specializes in products that reduce PC noise to a whisper while making sure your components never get too hot.

The Pure Base 500DX case manages this via high airflow intake panels and three 140mm fans, ensuring top cooling and near-silent operation. It doesn’t hurt that this case looks pretty darned stylish in the process.

Learn more about the Pure Base 500DX here.

be quiet! Silent Base 802 – $170

If you want something even more heavy duty, the Base 802 is just as stylish with all the cooling and quiet qualities of the 500DX. As well as the three 140mm fans, the Base 802 has plenty of customizable features, like a decoupled motherboard tray for an optional inverted layout and interchangeable top covers to let you choose between airflow and sound level.

Learn more about the Silent Base 802 here.

be quiet! BW008 Pure Loop All-in-One Water Cooling – $85-120

If you really want to reduce the noise of a PC, then water cooling is the best option, and be quiet! has you covered here, too. The BW007 Pure Loop All-in-One Water Cooling System’s design causes minimal vibration, meaning very little noise is generated while your PC is kept nice and cool. And if you have a window into your PC’s innards, you’ll be pleased to hear it’s good looking too, with a stylish all-black aluminum design with white LEDs for illumination.

Learn more about the Pure Loop Cooling System here.

be quiet! Dark Power Pro 12 1500W PSU – $450

Okay, not everyone needs this much power, but if you do find yourself needing a PSU with four figures worth of wattage, then the modular Dark Power Pro is for you. Offering up to 94.9% of power efficiency, the frameless Silent Wings fan is virtually silent when operating at ordinary loads. Plus, it’s an overclocker’s dream with key switches between six 12V rails and a large 12V rail.

Learn more about the Dark Power Pro here.

Noblechairs Epic Gaming Chair – $390

While some PC gamers might spend some time flailing their arms around in VR – most of the time you’ll be seated, and comfort matters. That’s where the Noblechairs Epic Gaming Chair comes in. It’s a great combination of comfort and flexibility, allowing for all kinds of adjustments so it fits you just right. Perfect for the budding live streamer or esports hopeful, this chair will allow you to game for hours without any sore spots.

Buy the Noblechairs Epic Gaming Chair on Amazon.

Fnatic Streak Mechanical Gaming Keyboard – $130

There’s no shortage of great gaming keyboards out there, but the Fnatic Streak outperforms them by A) having a load of nice extras and B) looking quite tasteful. Not only is it a pleasure to type on, but it comes with a detachable leather wrist rest, which sits neatly in one of three grooves in the bottom of the keyboard. If you want something more compact (and cheaper), then the miniStreak is also worth a look.

Buy the Fnatic Streak Mechanical Gaming Keyboard on Amazon.

Logitech G502 Gaming Mouse – $40

If there’s one thing Logitech knows, it’s mice, and the G502 Hero is a brilliant gaming mouse. Its sensor is up to 16,000 DPI and it features 11 customizable buttons with onboard memory to remember your specific button setup for each game. There are five removable 3.6g weights to ensure it offers just the right amount of resistance, and there’s programmable RGB lighting to boot. It started out at $80, so for $40 is simply a bargain.

Buy the Logitech G502 Gaming Mouse on Amazon.

EPOS | Sennheiser GSP 601/602 Headset – $219

EPOS | Sennheiser are well known for making audio products that aim for the highest quality sound, and the GSP 601 and 602 headsets bring this dedication to gamers in style. Not only do these headsets provide exceptional audio quality to help you pinpoint your opponents in multiplayer shooters, but they’re also extremely comfortable and the microphone can be easily adjusted to cope with your voice. While these headsets are primarily designed for PC use, but it supports Macs as well as the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbos Series X and Nintendo Switch.

Buy the GSP 601/602 Headset on Amazon.

EPOS | Sennheiser GSX 300 External Sound Card – $69

For best audio performance, if you don’t already have a dedicated sound card, you’ll want to pair the above headset with this external model. The GSX 300 works with the EPOS Gaming Suite to provide digital sound processing and 7.1 surround sound. As a neat touch, the ring around the volume dial will glow blue for 2.0 sound and red for 7.1 so you don’t have to constantly run the application to switch between the two.

Buy the GSX 300 External Sound Card on Amazon.

Oculus Quest 2 – $299

The Oculus Quest 2 is the device that should, by all rights, bring virtual reality to the mainstream. It doesn’t need external cameras, so setup time is minimal, and it doesn’t need an expensive PC to run the games, either. Just download games and apps to the headset , pop it on your head, and away you go.

Of course, if you do have a high-powered PC, you can play amazing titles like Half Life: Alyx with the optional Oculus Link cable, too.

Buy the Oculus Quest 2 on Amazon.

Valve Index – $999

If money is no object, you have the PC grunt to run it, and you can actually get hold of one, then the Valve Index is the virtual reality headset to get this year. It lacks the immediacy of the Oculus Quest 2 and can’t run without a PC or the movement tracking base stations, but the room scale experience is second to none with crisp visuals and high refresh rates to really lose yourself in a virtual world. Pair with Half-Life: Alyx. Trust us.

Buy the Valve Index on Amazon.

Phones and Wearables

Apple iPhone 12 Pro – $999

If you’re a hardcore Apple fan, then the iPhone 12 Pro is simply as good as it gets. Featuring 5G, three strong cameras, and the superfast Apple A14 Bionic processor, this is a top-of-the-line smartphone that won’t let you down. It’s also a lot more robust than past iPhones, thanks to the brand new Ceramic Shield protection, which promises up to four times’ the protection from drops – handy for butterfingered types.

A word of warning: unlike Android phones, the iPhone doesn’t support storage expansion via microSD. We think 128GB is a decent amount of space, but if you think you’ll need more in the future, then save yourself a world of pain and just pay $100 extra for 256GB or $300 more for the 512GB model now.

Buy the Apple iPhone 12 Pro on Amazon.

Apple iPhone SE – $399

It’s surprising how much iPhone you can get for $399. Typically, “lite” versions of smartphones have quite a lot missing, but Apple has managed to pack the same A13 processor into the iPhone SE as the one in its iPhone 11 Pro. It’s very, very fast – still faster than most flagship Android phones in benchmarks, actually.

Same caveat as before: 64GB is very little storage, so you’re best off paying $449 for the 128GB version if you can stretch a little further.

Buy the Apple iPhone SE on Amazon.

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra – $1050

The best Android phone on the market is packed absolutely full of features, with the best screen you can get and a superfast Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor pushing incredible performance.

The triple camera array enables you to take incredibly high quality photoss, but the real ace up this phone’s sleeve is the bundled S Pen stylus. It docks neatly in the underside of the handset, and lets you doodle on that big, beautiful screen. Android phones don’t get better than this.

Buy the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra on Amazon.

Google Pixel 4a – $349

On the budget end of Android, you get impressive value from the $349 Google Pixel 4a. Not only do you benefit from Google’s best-in-class camera processing for incredibly good shots, but you get a nice clean installation of Android – and early access to new versions as the company makes them, too.

Buy the Google Pixel 4a on Amazon.

Apple Watch Series 6 – $330

If you have an iPhone, then the Apple Watch is a no brainer as a smartwatch to go with it. And the latest version is better than ever with a nice, bright always-on display and the ability to measure your blood oxygen levels. That’s quite a nice extra, given lower SPO2 levels are a possibly early indicator of a Covid infection…

Buy the Apple Watch Series 6 on Amazon.

Fitbit Versa 3 – $200

For Android users, the Fitbit Versa 3 is a fabulous smartwatch. The Versa 3 builds on its excellent predecessors by including built-in GPS for the first time, allowing you to head out for a run without dragging your phone along with you. On top of that, its fabulous screen and week-long battery life won’t let you down. The fact that it has Alexa built in is just a neat, added bonus.

Buy the Fitbit Versa 3 on Amazon.

Streaming

Elgato HD60 S+ Capture Card – $214

If you’re a streamer who games on a console or gaming PC, you’ll need a capture card to send the footage to your streaming PC. The Elgato HD60 S+ is the gold standard of external game capture cards (unless you need the $399 4K model, of course), providing smooth, low latency 1080p 60 fps gameplay with HDR for your editing pleasure. Sure, it’s pricy, but your Twitch fans deserve the best, right?

Buy the Elgato HD60 S+ Capture Card on Amazon.

Logitech StreamCam – $170

And if you’re streaming your games, you’ll likely find your average webcam won’t quite cut it, either. Fortunately, the Logitech StreamCam is a solution aimed squarely at streamers, with plenty of features that’ll come in handy when mid broadcast. Its smart auto-focus and exposure mean you won’t need to constantly adjust things, and this webcam is also ideal for those who want to maintain a solid 60 frames per second for their HD footage.

Buy the Logitech StreamCam on Amazon.

Lifestyle

Nest Audio – $100

Google’s smart speaker is back and better than ever. We’ve given this the nod ahead of Amazon’s excellent Echo partly because of a slight sound quality advantage, but also because Google Assistant still has the edge when it comes to AI smarts. But if you’re in an all Amazon household, then the new Echo is also pretty damned good for $70, too.

Buy the Nest Audio on Amazon.

Nanoleaf Rhythm Edition – $200

Turn your wall into a canvas for light-based art with the Nanoleaf Rhythm Edition. Nine triangular LED panels click together into whatever pattern you like and then come alive in 16.7 million colors to the rhythm of your music for a spellbinding light show. Need more panels for your grand design to work? Extras are available in packs of three…

Buy the Nanoleaf Rhythm Edition on Amazon.

Tile Pro – $32

How many times have you misplaced your keys this year? If the answer is “more than zero,” then do yourself a favor and buy a Tile Pro right now. If you lose something with a Tile attached, just log into the app and the Tile will play a catchy jingle until you find it. If you still have no luck, then mark the item as lost and the worldwide Tile community will begin anonymously searching on your behalf – as soon as a user passes them, the coordinates will be sent your way, so you can pick up the search yourself.

Buy the Tile Pro on Amazon.

Ember Bluetooth Mug – $100

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Yes, even something as simple as a cup of coffee can be enhanced by technology. Ember is a Bluetooth mug which connects to an app, keeping your drink at the ideal temperature from the first sip to the last. Cleverly, it charges wirelessly when sat on the included plate, so you don’t need to endure the embarrassment of asking where your mug’s USB lead has gone.

Buy the Ember Bluetooth Mug on Amazon.

The post Best Tech Holiday Gifts for Black Friday appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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rainydayswriter · 7 years

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RFA + Minor Trio Play Until Dawn

A collab I did with @reifromrfa! Truly a wonderful person and writer! If you enjoy Mystic Messenger (or just laughing in general) you should definitely check out Rei’s blog! I had so much fun doing this, so much laughter and keyboard smashes went into these, so I hope you enjoy it! ^^

Yoosung

This poor boy, how you convinced him to play a horror game is beyond anyone

All the lights stay ON whether it’s the middle of the day or not

But he really enjoys this game and tries to make the best decisions and tries to save everyone

Specially the wolf (makes you Google how to save it)

Gushes about the graphics half the time

Horrified that there’s even a choice to harm animals

Screams his head off when the wendigo first makes its appearance

And also screams when the flamethrower guy appears in the mines

Practically THROWS the controller at every scare, you’ll have to play through some high-tension spots for him

What is he more afraid of: gore or needles? BOTH, apparently ;;;

He answers Dr Hill’s tests truthfully so the game is 1000x scarier for him now ;;;

Explores the most, probably to stall but also finds most of the clues and totems

Unfortunately he gets a little too curious about every single item, and ends up getting Mike’s fingers caught in the bear trap

Makes you decide what to do because he can’t watch

You decide to just hack off Mike’s fingers

Yoosung flees for the bathroom

He couldn’t save everyone and he feels really really bad about it; you have to console him when he accidentally kills Chris and Ashley gets upset

“Yoosung, you can just replay it later-”

“NO, they deserve to be together now!!”

Restarts the game and still falls for the same jumpscares

What a (lovable) dork

After finishing up the game, he will need to watch no less than four romcoms to calm down

Throw in plenty of cuddles and praising his bravery and he’ll be so happy

Zen

Mike is his favorite character: buff hero on a mission to save his girlfriend, befriends a wolf, kicks Wendigo ass? He’s so there

All those innuendos at the beginning of the game?? He’s wiggling his brows at you the whole time

“A romantic getaway in the mountains sounds nice, huh babe~?”

“Yeah Zen nothing like a crazy flamethrower murderer to set the mood.”

Definitely gets Jess to take off all her clothes and gets flustered when you tease him about it

That part where Matt climbs the fire tower and leaves the axe? You can bet Zen is swearing profusely at the screen

High key makes fun of the horror-movie acting

Pauses the game to debate almost every decision

Sorry Josh, he’s saving Ashley no ifs ands or buts

Protects your precious eyes from any gore (almost smacks you in the face with the controller in his hurry)

The first Wendigo scares the hell out of him and he lets out the most high-pitched screech

I didn’t know you had such a ladylike scream, Hyun~

Tries to save everyone because he’s ZEN THE KNIGHT

Not a big fan of Emily because she’s such a bully but still saves her because he wouldn’t kill anyone just because they were mean

Sucks at quick time events, though, and probably curses the entire time

Both of you are yelling when someone’s getting chased, there is arm slapping involved

Manages to kill off a few people, including Emily

But of course he saves Ashley and Chris, Sam, Mike and Jess

Jaehee

Isn’t much of a gamer to begin with, but is willing to play with you for moral support

So done with all of these kids already, where are their parents, why are they on an isolated mountain after two girls died due to a prank they played??

Almost as jumpy as Yoosung, and tries to play it off but at one point spills her coffee all over the couch

“Why do you enjoy this?!”

She can’t understand who would willingly put themselves in stressful situations for fun?

Surprisingly sarcastic at times, as a defense tactic against the fear

If one more person mentions the butterfly effect

“Worst fear? Bad Zen fanfiction.” Jumin in a cat suit

Criticizes the characters ruthlessly

Sam running around in a towel -- “How is she still alive and not freezing to death?”

Doesn’t want anyone to die, but you swear she smirked when the revenge plot was revealed

“This story is so cliche-wait what the hell is that thing?!”

MUTE TERROR as the wendigo screams at your character

Needs to take frequent breaks to calm her poor heart

Clinging to you for dear life

Jaehee please I can’t feel my arm

How can any of these kids be sane???

Sam is her favorite character. Takes a bath for hours and then saves everyone at the end. If you end up killing her, Jaehee will be salty af

Jumin

At first glance you wouldn’t expect him to be the type to play video games, but he owns a Gray Station and a ZetBox so

The lodge in the mountains looks nice and he considers investing in a ski resort

But comments on Josh’s poor planning skills and says he’s a terrible host ;;;

Jumin honey it’s just a game ;;;

You’ve seen his attempts at taking pictures. The parts where you’re supposed to keep the controller still? Better snatch that controller from him and set it on the table or you’re DEAD.

He’s so focused when he plays, and he manages to keep a straight face through most of the game. Hardly even flinches

How

Unfortunately, he isn’t too keen on lingering or searching each and every room, so he misses unobvious clues and totems

But will definitely replay the game until it says he’s completed it 100%

Refuses to read any walkthroughs or accept Seven’s “help”

Jumin no you can’t skip work for this

Ashley or Josh? That decision was tough since it made him think about you and V

He saves Ashley but you can see it bothered him

How can a game make me feel such things?

This guy may be cold and calculating to other people, but he’s fiercely loyal and protective so he tries to save as many characters as he can and you find yourself more attracted to him

When he learns about Josh and the whole revenge thing, he still fights to save Josh because that’s just what friends do and he understands how Josh was going through a tough time because of his sisters

Finds himself addicted to these types of games and buys similar games for you two to play

Saeyoung

LOLOL a game where he can decide the fate of 8 teenagers? LOLOLOL

Turns all the lights off for ~atmosphere~ and yells at tense moments to try and scare you

Guesses who the Psycho is right away

Laughs at all the lame puns and jokes

Won’t stop quoting the game for days (“Hello, friends and fans!” “Ugh, unfollow.” “It’s mammoth!” “You know what else is mammoth, MC? Me.” wiggles eyebrows suggestively)

Fear: cockroaches

Jokingly shoves the controller into your hands at the worst moments

Makes THE MOST RANDOM decisions ever: “I wonder what will happen if I FOLLOW JESS’S VOICE?”

“Saeyoung you know that isn’t Jess!”

“So are you saying I shouldn’t open the trapdoor? The one right here?”

Good luck prying him away at any point, he’s not leaving till he’s found all the clues and unlocks as many endings as possible

Not above trying to distract you when it’s your turn to play

“Saeyoung if you poke me one more time-”

Chris gets beheaded by the wendigo

“FA;DFKLDJS SAEYOUNG!”

He’d just laugh ;;; Seriously this man :)))

Sam’s “Don’t move” parts?

HE POKES YOU

AND SAM DIES

“OH MY GOD SAEYOUNG CHOI”

“MC, it’s just a game, we can always replay it~”

Just like you keep replaying my route~

Never playing this with him ever again ;;; He’s more stressful than the game ;;;;

Never really had much interest in video games, but if you want to play it he’ll be right there beside you

He’ll get surprised at jumpscares but wouldn’t make a sound

He’ll immediately hold you when you get scared or scream though

Makes all the righteous choices and even though Emily’s such a horrible person, still makes it a point to save her

Protect this man

What do you fear most? Gore. This cutie apparently hates gore and he closes his eyes when Matt dies coz he tried to save Emily

That photo with the scarecrow? He felt calm looking at it, probably because he usually went on hiking trips alone for his photography thing

This guy is good with the “don’t move” scenes too, since he’s used to staying still when taking photos

Sucks at quick time events though ;;; He panics too easily and misses the buttons but thank God you learned about this early on in the game ;;;

Same as Jumin, he has a hard time choosing between Ashley and Josh

“I would give my life instead, why can’t that be an option?”

But he also chooses to save Ashley and also feels bad about it afterwards

Ashley or Chris? You already know this man will choose to kill himself than hurt the people he loves

And then he finds out that it was all a revenge scheme by Josh and he’s so surprised because how can someone do that to their friends?

He’s on the edge of his seat during Emily’s trip down the mines part

Super invested in the mystery aspect, ends up talking and theorizing through some cutscenes

V there are Wendigos PAY ATTENTION

Will make you look for all the clues and totems because he’s so invested in this game and really wants to save everyone

And he feels terrible when the flamethrower guy dies even though there was really no way to save him

When he finds out what really happens to the twins, oh my God, he’s so done with this game

Why would you make Hannah eat her sister??? And how come nobody searched the mines? Surely someone must have known about it?

If horny teenagers can find this mine in the middle of a snowstorm HOW COME THE SEARCH PARTIES WEREN’T ABLE TO SAVE THEM???

Surprisingly saves everyone except Matt because he was so stubborn about trying to save Emily

Saeran

Let’s face it, this guy would probably kill all the characters

You see his face change when he sees the twins in the beginning of the game though, and he totally chooses the option to let go and fall together instead of letting the other twin die alone

Hates the other characters because they were mean to the twins

Yup, he kills all of them

Except Sam, Chris and Josh because they weren’t involved in the prank

And also, the wolf

Fair enough, you roll with it

He decided he would save Chris but when he finds out Chris likes Ashley, chooses to shoot himself

Marry him

Then he finds out Josh tried to get revenge for his sisters

Is now super determined to save him

Unlike Saeyoung he’s kind of impatient but he reads through the stuff

Still shoots Emily because she was such a bitch

Kills Mike as well, because he was seriously a jerk to Hannah but everyone sees him as the hero --not Saeran though, so bye bye Mike

Matt finds Jessica and he’s considerate of her and chooses to hide instead, saving both of them

It wasn’t really his intention since he wanted to kill everyone, but you kiss his cheek saying how cool he is and he blushes

So upset when he finds out Hannah became a wendigo because how could she eat her sister? That’s really really messed up

And when he finds Hannah’s diary in the mines? You hug him because he goes silent and stares at the screen blankly

Saves Sam as well and he never plays the game again ;A;

Next time you’re playing Tekken

Vanderwood

Ha? What’s this game you want to play?

Pretends he’s bored with the game but deep down he’s LOVING it

Kills the quicktime events

“This is so easy.”

Gets so annoyed like wtf is wrong with these kids??? Why are they so horny???

He doesn’t always make the right decisions though and ends up killing a few characters

Swears a lot

Devastated when the wolf dies but he wouldn’t show it

So when you gently squeeze his arm and tell him it’s alright, you see him purse his lips

He’s crying inside

Oh it was all an elaborate prank by Josh?

FUCK YOU JOSH YOU DEAD

Wendigos are after him? Has no problem staying still and doesn’t miss a shot during Mike’s chapter

Hates Dr. Hill’s character because he felt like someone was probing into his brain and he doesn’t like it

Chris and Ashley are his OTP so he definitely saves those two

He finishes the game and tells you he’s done playing it, but you’ll catch him playing it late into the night when he can’t sleep, trying to get all collectibles and save everyone

#MysticMessenger #headcanons #imagines #spooks #yoosung kim #hyun ryu #zen #jumin han #jaehee kang #saeyoung choi #saeran choi #vanderwood #v #jihyun kim #Rei is WONDERFUL #this was so much fun #writing

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guptasnavneet001 · 5 years

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The future of voice search: 2019 and beyond | digitalmarketerindia.net

Voice Search: Digital Marketing Strategies and SEO Tips:-digitalmarketerindia.net

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Voice Search Optimization - Voice Search SEO for Businesses Voice Search: Digital Marketing Strategies :-Every year voice search is becoming more and more popular with different categories of users. But how important is it for Internet marketing, is it worth paying attention to it and how to adapt projects, do optimization (SEO) About this and, as always, not only - we tell in this material.Like:-Google Voice Search

Voice Search: Why Your Brand Needs A Voice Strategy

Voice search is a speech recognition technology that allows a user to perform a search via voice command. Voice Search:-Regardless of whether you need to find a restaurant, a house or a street, or just want to know which song sounds on the radio, but most adults use voice search daily. Currently, the main Voice Search Assistants are "Apple - Siri, Google - “OK, Google”, Cortana from Microsoft. Compare Echo Dot, Amazon Echo, and Echo Plus voice search:-Although children and adolescents are not far behind them. And it may seem that the ideal marketing strategy and search engine optimization (SEO) strategy has already been chosen, but your business may still remain behind competitors since it does not use all the possibilities of voice search. In addition, now voice search is no longer something innovative, it is available to a large number of users, and it is not uncommon or a “trick” of one brand. An important role is played by key phrases that are better suited for voice search queries, which means that local SEO is also improving. As a result, there is a change in the entire current marketing strategy that can change and improve the overall results of the work.

Voice Search Optimization - Voice Search SEO for Businesses

Thus, voice search plays a big role in digital marketing strategy, which means that it needs to be adapted and modified so that the results are necessary and successful. In this article, we’ll start talking about voice search and its impact on the Internet, on marketing, on design, and on users. And we will consider whether it is really necessary for marketing activities or it is nothing more than a “trick”, a temporary trend.

Voice Search SEO: Tips and Strategies to Optimize Your Website The mystery of voice search, Simply put, voice search is a voice recognition technology that allows people to search on a mobile device without using a virtual keyboard. But devices can be not only mobile (tablets, smartphones) but also PC, smart home systems. Most often, this search is used within the Google search engine, whose voice search queries have grown exponentially over the years. Therefore, it is important to understand these events and incorporate them into your digital marketing strategy. According to analytical studies of Internet trends, an unprecedented increase in the use of voice assistants was observed in 2019, and if you look at similar studies for 2017–2019, the situation confirms an even greater increase.

How to Get Extra Traffic from Google Through Voice Search

Currently, the main Voice Search Assistants are "Apple - Siri, Google - “OK, Google”, Cortana from Microsoft. Apple became the first major player to equip their iPhones with Siri assistant. Then Google introduced Google Now, which was intended to support and work with information even before the user asks a question. For example, you come back every day at 19:00 home from work on the same route. Google Now will automatically update traffic every day and pick up a shorter path somewhere around 19 hours, without waiting for you to ask for it. With the release of Windows 10, Cortana made her debut,. However, Google search remains the most popular and this fact must be taken into account in its marketing strategy. How is voice search used Virtual assistants are designed to fulfill information requests or answer questions. Here are two simple examples of how people use voice search, as well as the goal or type of query: “Ok, Google. Find coffee shops near me ”- search for nearby stores and restaurants, taking into account the geolocation of the user. “Siri, what is a confession?” - a search for general information (that is, concepts, facts, weather, recipes, who sings, and so on).

SEO Survival Tips for the Voice Search Revolution The Impact of Voice Search on Digital Marketing The value of voice search for the business. Let's think about this: if your internet marketing strategy has a direct impact on the success of your company, and the use of voice search directly affects your marketing strategy, trends in voice search will inevitably affect your business. Regardless of whether this will lead to positive or negative results, the whole work, in general, depends only on how well you adapt your strategy to changes and innovations, to new technologies and the development of digital space. Adaptation is important, at least because Google bases almost all of its ratings on mobile versions of sites (adapting them to mobile devices) instead of desktop versions. Voice search significantly improves and simplifies the work of users, which means that the results of search results become more specific and precise. Accordingly, if the site has good enough optimization for mobile devices, the use of a voice Search assistant can be an excellent solution for businesses to overtake competitors. Voice Search: The Future of Search/SEO Suppose you require the address of the administration (IRCTC). When entering the search "IRCTC" you will see, at least, the option with multiple Option. But if you are in your area, and the information has a lot of relevant, optimized content and landing pages for activities and contacts, then it’s enough in the voice search to say: “ESS phone near me” hears the letter "e", although it implies "E"). More precisely, absolutely accurate

Voice Search and SEO

Voice Search Statistics 2019 For Marketers Many analysts believe that the increase in the share of using voice search is the end of SEO development as such. At the same time, other experts believe that voice search, on the contrary, only contribute to the development of SEO. But both those and others agree on one thing - digital marketing is changing for the better. This is the same as the perception of a glass of water. If you think it is half empty or half-filled, you cannot deny that voice search has an impact on digital marketing and SEO strategies, only positively or only negatively. But the main reason for the change in Digital marketing and SEO strategy is that in the "world of voice" and text search there are simultaneous with each other. Someone likes (it is necessary to use) only the text, someone is satisfied with the voice option. But, anyway, for each type of search, there are different requests. The Importance of Voice Search in Search Engine Optimization Accordingly, for SEO, voice search is important: user language (regional), conversion of text queries to longer and more detailed, emphasis on results, the importance of authoritative results, quality content. The main difference between text search and voice Search is the level of spoken language. We write: “the best restaurants are in PATNA”, but usually we ask: “Google, what a good restaurant in PATNA?” Thus, since the spoken language is the main one for voice search, the content should be optimized for such possible queries. To prioritize Google with respect to snippets (reputable parts of search results), quick and accurate responses to search queries are key to ranking. If Google recognizes the site as a snippet, then this leads to an increase in sessions, and the speed and the number of clicks (CTR), and better visibility. The reason for this is the content that is considered by the search engine, as informative and quite authoritative. Therefore, it is possible to choose this resource as a source for a quick response to a certain user request in text or voice Search.

How to turn off "OK Google" Android voice search And what is important, but it is impossible to achieve this if one keyword is repeated several times, putting it into different content. But if you present your content in very good form, simple, informative, then such a snippet can become a small advertisement for a business. How Voice Search will Change the Future of eCommerce Google Profiles My Business:-Google Profiles My business is used by almost all companies in the world, including India ones. But they can also be optimized and customized so that they are most suitable for voice search. The fullest information and accurate, Real images are, not everything that can bring the page to the first results of the issue. Essentially, internet marketers need to maintain their existing local SEO strategy. But at the same time, you need to be sure that all marketing work is focused on how people formulate their requests so that the information on the site matches these very requests. In the report “Trends of the Internet in 2019” by Neil Patel, it turned out that voice search is three times more local than text, that is, local (regional) SEO is now more important than ever. And there are the same reports for 2017 and for 2019. Just recommend that you look through them. Very interesting data. Below are the data of voice search requests by category: local information (restaurants, shopping, destinations, etc.); general (web search, recipes, news); entertainment (listening to music, games, social networks); personal assistant (shopping, calendar events, calls, SMS).

The Impact of Voice Search on Digital Marketing Future voice search marketing:-Considering that at the moment almost 20% of requests in Google applications are now performed by voice (there is variation), you can, of course, challenge the fact that voice search is in the top. And if you start analyzing the availability of the same iPhone for the masses, then all the more. Nevertheless, according to campaign live statistics, by 2020 it is expected that about 50% of all Internet searches are statute by voice. It's just that now there is still a trend, innovation is gaining its popularity, it is developing, and certainly, it does not die at all or goes to no. Google App Voice Searches - Think with Google As already noted, mobile user activity is crucial to maintaining the competitiveness of your business. Regardless of how well developed the site is, the client may still not have decided to update the design, but he will not achieve the desired results in advertising if the project is loaded for a long time. It may have few images, few scripts, but it loads quickly, and the information is the most necessary - then such an inconspicuous site may well be the first in the snippet. Another important component of voice search is its ability to "learn" your habits - as the user says he is trying to find. It's not just about interests or vocal fads; Mobile devices also track search habits. Surely you noticed how the search pages were covered with messages and advertising of cosmetics, stores and other things immediately after you once ordered a set of cosmetics online? This form of redirection is also included in voice search. Google said last year that they are striving to make voice search technology ubiquitous and trouble-free, add it to all their services and even to Google Analytics, Search Console. But it also means that all our devices - phones, watches, digital assistants - will have a unified software solution. While this is a scary prospect for some, it inevitably becomes a reality in the field of digital marketing and beyond. To be able to keep up with such a competitive market, your business must be aware of the latest technological advances (and search engine algorithm updates) and continue to adapt your SEO strategy in response to these developments. And adapting the strategy of SEO is not as difficult and painstaking as it seems, but will take time. We will tell about it separately. Completion Most people are looking for a quick solution to turn to multitask into something easy and natural. And oral speech, in this case, becomes an excellent candidate for this. Using the voice is convenient for those who cannot be distracted by typing due to various reasons and conditions. And if you think about mistakes, then about 8% of speech may be recognized incorrectly. And this is despite the fact that speech recognition technologies are constantly being improved. Keyword Research for Voice Search Optimization The growing popularity of voice search affects the way customers look for products and services. Which makes it relevant for digital marketers and, thus, ensures the quality of the content visible for each type of request (voice search, text questions, and others). As people begin to search differently, websites previously optimized for text searches should now be optimized for voice calls. Returning to the beginning of our material, we note that voice search is not a “trick”, but a new trend, a new direction of the Internet that is developing, introducing and becoming more and more popular with users. How the voice Internet will affect the future of digital marketing At the end of 2018, 30% of web browsing sessions will be carried out without using screens. The main driver of these changes will be young and high-tech target groups that actively use digital assistants such as Siri, Google Microsoft Cortana, and Echo from Amazon. Despite the fact that this 30 % still feel comfortable in the middle of 2019, the perspective of the Internet without a display is becoming more realistic every day. Interacting with digital technologies in a natural way, with the help of voice, will make digital services more accessible to a wide range of consumers. The omnipresence of voice Search:-Not only SMART speakers are rapidly growing in popularity, today almost every smartphone is equipped with a voice assistant. We can also interact by voice with our televisions, home appliances, and cars. Major technology players are actively investing in this technology, and over the next few years, every electronic device that we buy or will carry home will be equipped with voice control capabilities. Hooray, you say, finally we have reached the peak of mobile voice technology, and we can walk around the planet with our head held high, freeing ourselves from restrictive screens? Not so fast ladies and gentlemen! Computer speech recognition:- has reached the human level of accuracy thanks to advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Yes, cars now understand us perfectly, but they are still not able to respond in the same meaningful and meaningful way. Therefore, the development of Voice Search services for full communication with consumers is a huge problem in modern marketing. Brand promotion in the digital world without displays:-With the advent of voice Search control technology, engaging with brands opens up a whole new front for effort. We need to invent ways to communicate with brands with consumers. Literally. Without the usual "insurance" in the form of the device screen. The visual Internet showed how your brand looks. In the era of Voice Search, the Internet talks about how your brand looks at the world. In recent decades, radio advertising has mostly come down to the push-to-store format. Loudly, unpleasantly and irritably inspired the consumer that shopping on the way home from work would be a more attractive prospect than listening to radio commercials. In the new online space without displays, we will see the renaissance of the long-lost art of audio branding. Advertising in podcasts is already moving in this direction, and its carriers are the personalities of the authors. And the merging of brands with these persons should be a priority. The difficulties of the era of voice Search:-We will also need to pay attention to changing the voice search patterns. Text search tends to be short and precise, in practice from one to three words. With the advent of voice search, requests become longer and are formed in a more natural speech scheme, therefore, approaches to the selection of keywords and SEO will have to be revised and adapted. Voice-enabled commerce also raises several interesting dilemmas. How will you sell the product if your client cannot see it? However, this may be less difficult than originally intended. For example, “Alexa, order me kitchen towels,” and Amazon already knows the brand that you buy regularly. Using customer data and working with big players will be key trends, at least for FMCG. But how to get into the usual set of consumers? How to be sectors, such as fashion, which are very dependent on visual impression? The close interweaving of all marketing sensory touch points comes into play, the voice as a channel cannot be isolated from other brand communications. Obviously, the voice does not replace the rest of the marketing channels, but it can become a primary reference point for consumers because of its ubiquity and unhindered integration into everyday life. Properly defining the role of voice in the overall brand strategy will be crucial. Navigation in the "twilight zone" technological evolution:-What could be the biggest problem of this bold new world of voice Search marketing is the fact that our holistic world is not as unified as we would like. Most voice Search assistants function under limited conditions. Even if the digital assistant successfully turned on the lights in the kitchen or launched the PlayStation through compatible smart devices, such a task as “Siri, show me cool summer jackets from Amazon on the website” can become difficult to implement. Today, users often have to act as a connecting interface between voice Search assistant. Sources: www.digitalmarketerindia.net Author:-Digital Navneet Read the full article

#voice #voicesearch

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lovemesomesurveys · 7 years

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What color are the majority of your socks? Black.

Pick two: lollipop, anchor, bandage, perfume, wizard, lizard, flag, window. Now, using those two words, form a sentence. A little boy and his mom were walking past a candy store, and through the window a big, colorful lollipop caught his eye.

Do you drink the recommended eight, 8-ounce glasses of water a day? Nope. I get two, sometimes three glasses a day. In addition to the two cups of coffee I have and a soda. Those count okay? lol.

Do you think it’s easier to raise a boy a girl? Why? Wowwww.

If you had to open a bakery - what would you name it? Man, I wish I could think of a good pun right now. <—Buns of Steel. The Breadless Horseman. Caking’ it to the Limit. Last but not Yeast. Better off Bread. Cake it ‘til You Make It. @tapiooocasurveys how are these? <<< I live for puns, and these are fantastic. What about, A Hole in One for a donut shop? lol. Or, All You Knead is Dough.

Would you rather be able to control the weather or time? Time.

What key(s) on your keyboard do you rarely, if ever, use? The ones at the top. Ya know, the F1, F2, etc keys. I never use those.

Do you think that being drunk is a valid excuse for cheating on somebody? No.

In your opinion, is there a difference between “ILY” and “I love you?” Kind of. ILY seems more casual or something.

Honestly, if you weren’t you (obviously) would you want to be your friend? No, ha.

What is the longest game of Monopoly you’ve ever played? Did you win? I’m not sure exactly, but I just know we had to write down how much money we each had and what properties we owned so that when we put it away, we could continue playing at another time. I think that went on for awhile.

Are any of your friends currently cheating on somebody? No. Well, not that I know of. I wouldn’t think so.

Can you name 5 red foods? Do you eat all of those? Apples, tomatoes, strawberries, watermelon, and red licorice. I like them all, but I rarely eat them.

What amusement park is the closest to you? Ever been there? Six Flags. We used to go A TON every summer but I’ve had no interest the last few years. <<< Same, actually.

Any idea how to salsa dance? How about how to make salsa? No. I do know how to make a delicious, spicy salsa.

What is your favorite strawberry flavored food? Chocolate covered strawberries, strawberry wafers... I like strawberry flavored stuff, so I’m sure there’s others I’m forgetting.

What is the last thing you Googled? You remember. Don’t lie. Lol okay, okay sheesh. I’ve been reading and studying the Bible, so I looked up some things for clarification.

You get to to on vacation to Greece! Now pick a family member to go with: My mom.

Have you ever cut somebody’s hair? Or your own hair? How did it turn out? I used to trim my own bangs. It was pretty obvious I did it myself a lot of the time, ha.

How much of the clothes that you own do you not wear anymore but still have? A lot, actually. I have a hard time getting rid of things.

Do you prefer laying under the sun or under the moon? Probably the moon because it’s typically cooler at night. Unless I’m lying out at the beach, in which case I’d say the sun.

Solve the following: 2 + (3 - 1) X 3^2 — any ideas? 20.

MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, YouTube - have any of those? I have all of ‘em, but I haven’t used Myspace in yearssss. My profile is floating around somewhere on the interwebs.

Are you more afraid of heights or falling? I think it’s the idea of falling from a high place that is terrifying.

Have you ever been labeled as something? What? Emo.

Do you own anything clothing with a floral print? Yes, a few things.

What is the oldest video game system you’ve played? Super Nintendo.

Have you ever seen somebody in public doing…ya know. The dirty? No, thankfully.

#personal #text #survey #surveys

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welch-schoner-morgen · 6 years

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L’amour est la poésie des sens //pt1?//

You know that nostalgic flashback you get just from a certain smell? Walking down the city of Paris, the city of love, it smelled just like home. Sweet, harmless, coated with a mother’s loving tendencies. As a child, you wouldn’t understand the difference between right or wrong, but how do we distinguish between the good and bad? Is doing the ‘right thing’ just subjective?

Sitting in a blanket of coffee in a Cafe decorated with cute fairy lights and french-speaking natives. I slaved away at my computer, which was hard to do in a noisy enough place with writer’s block. I couldn’t even think of an opening sentence. The linear key just appeared and disappeared and I stared at my blank screen. I look outside for inspiration, just families smacking bugs out of their face and children stopping to pet dogs without permission, there’s nothing out-of-the-ordinary to write about. “Bonjour” I hear a voice enter my left ear as I shoot up in beholder’s direction. “Oh I don’t speak French..” I say in embarrassment. “Ah American I see”, A skinny built figure says with a thick French accent in perfect pronunciation. “Oh uh yeah, New York”. I say and go back to working, taking a sip of my coffee. “What are you working on?” The stranger asks again, confused as to why he continued to conversation, I try to act natural and say “Just some author bull-crap, can’t think of a story to write” I say while playing with my hair staring at my screen. “ Entre deux coeurs qui s’aiment, nul besoin de paroles” Taking off its hat and revealing his charming good looks, my mouth drops in awe. “Sorry what?” I ask. “You’ll know soon enough” leaving while adding in a cheeky smirk and wink. Before I forgot what he had told me, I jump onto google translate and try my best to put into words what he had told me.

“Two hearts in love needs no words”, I start to think that maybe he was a mad man, what is that even supposed to mean? I close my laptop in frustration, defeated but driven to try again next time, I look to my left once again and see the stranger’s hat, and inside, a note. His phone number? Classy.

“Why don’t you just call him?″ A distorted call of a sibling rings from radioactive waves... I was on the phone with my sister, basically. ”Uh because he’s insane Derria, didn’t you hear me two seconds ago?″ ″....or a hopeless romantic? Come on, just take a break from all this writing stuff and let lose a little, who knows, maybe a little love story?” Derria giggles through the phone, a breathy giggle. She was out of breath, but only from walking around her room whilst talking on the phone, she has a habit of unknowingly walking around in circles until her energy drains. “Just one text at least..”

“Hey! I’m the lady from the Cafe!!!!!” Ew “Yo waddup? mysterious writer girl from cafe here!” Oh my- did I actually come up with this? I honestly sound like an elder trying to be a millennial. “Heyy, probably not going to get a response but you left your number at the Cafe last time...” Whatever, good enough.

Sitting in a stuffy caffeinated Cafe once again, the same one. Mostly because they had the best coffee....and I was hoping to see him again.

I take a break from writing and decide to ponder for ideas away from the screen, so I look up and look at the street once again. This time it was dull, and isolated. People were stressed because it was rush hour and everyone is in competition to see how well off the start their morning...every morning. That’s mostly the reason I became a writer, to ‘break away from the crowd’ I suppose, I didn’t want to be seated where the only songs you’d hear are phone calls and the tapping of keys on keyboards and the only atmospheric scenery you had was a dull room in uniform. It was tiring and might I say, even depressing. Being a writer opened me to more possibilities, I can travel, interview stars, I had the ability to bring people from their world, to mine. That to me, was romantic, a different kind of difference. I was brought back to reality when hearing a little *ping* coming from my phone making me jump. “I left that number there for the barista” I see a notification and my face begins to blush. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry, this is embarrassing, I’ll give it to her for you” I respond, without even checking over, not noticing how incredibly stupid I sound. “Woah calm down, I was kidding” followed by five glowing laughing emojis. “You look cute in that blue blouse ;)” My heart drops, I start looking around the Cafe. When I finally focus on the same blond hair I saw last time, I smirk.. in relief really. He smiles back and waves. “So should I come over or will you?” I turn back to look at my phone, his corniness actually got to me? Without saying anything I turn back to look at him and nudge my head, signalling him to come over.

“So you didn’t call me” his voice was smooth yet raspy, kinda like biting into a M&M. A hard exterior, smooth interior. “My sister had to convince me to even text you...″ I say with a smile, forgetting about the work that had to be done. “I’m heartbroken“ he jokes whilst putting his hand to his heart in a dramatic way. I giggle showing my charm, my smile. We look at each other for a while, there’s a silence and all that could be heard are inaudible conversations and the brewing of coffee machines. Time has slowed and it gave me a chance to analyze his features, he’s got two freckles on his left cheekbone that look like a heart, his nose is a little crooked but frames his face perfectly, and a some hairs on his face where he forgot to shave. “My name’s Aiden” he brings out his hand to shake. This would mean that we were no longer strangers and we would level up as acquaintances. Hesitant, I shake his hand “Rosanne“

We talked for hours, the sun slowly began to fall into a deep sleep while Aiden and I were still yapping away, buzzed on coffee. I talked about my career, my life, my sister, anything you need to know in a person we shared in just a couple of hours. It felt so good to connect with a person like this, I had been on my own for a while. I didn’t get much from him though, He was mostly interested in what I had to say. I didn’t think much of it because it was so blissful just sitting there and talking to someone, he even gave me ideas for my book, but he seemed strangely familiar.

“It’s getting late, we should probably...part ways..” I saw grabbing my jacket. Through all the ruffling of my jacket I hear him ask “Will I see you again?”, “Yeah, here again tomorrow?” I reply, “I’m getting sick of coffee, let me take you somewhere exciting, something that shows you PARIS”, He was so charming it was too hard to believe. “Well you have my number” I saw and half way out the door I’m stopped by him, he grabs my arms and twirls me around so that I was facing him “Can I walk you home?”

The clogging of my heels were only to be heard, he followed me as I walked. “Can I take a picture of you? standing in front of the ocean?” he says.. I turn my head slightly witnessing the sparkles and colour scheme of the ocean. “Yeah, sure”.

He positions me in front the ocean and tells me to let my hair down, as the breeze came in and my hair began to fly, a single flash was to be seen and there it was, the first document of us being together. “You’re so beautiful” He says looking at the picture he had taken. “Shut up” I say and hit his shoulder in a coy posture. “I’m serious, You’re even prettier now than before..” my smile disappears as I focus in on the ‘prettier now than before’. “What did you just say?” I turn around and see him still looking at the picture. “What?” he looks confused, “What did you mean by ‘you’re even prettier now than before’?” His expression was hard to match with a feeling as it was dark and the moon and street lights were our only sources of light. He pauses but responds with “The last time we were at the Cafe... you had make-up on, but your natural look is much more beautiful” it just flowed so easily and freely that I believed him. “Sorry, i’m just being paranoid” I saw and look down like a child who had just gotten in trouble. “Don’t worry” he says and comes towards me to grab my hand “Come on, let’s walk you home”.

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oselatra · 6 years

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Back 40

The Observer right now is, as the old timers used to say, "down in the back." Specifically, it's the lower back, which has us hobbling around The Observatory like the cranky, broken version of Charles Foster Kane after his off-key caged songbird flew the coop. As we write this, we're perched on a chair with a pillow stuffed behind us, desperately trying to keep our rickety bones in the perfect alignment required to prevent the pain from going off like somebody lit a cherry bomb between the knuckles of our spine. Cough, sneeze, reach for the coffee cup in just the wrong way, and ZING! An electric bolt races out from the spot and down our string of knobby pearls, the pain enough to keep us tied us to this chair and keyboard for as long as that is bearable, when we retreat to the slightly more bearable couch. If this goes on much longer, we're going to have to look into getting our aging, non-HD flat screen bolted to the ceiling.

In case nobody told you: Getting older sucks. We heard a comedian once — was it Wile E. Coyote-grade long-fall-to-rock-bottom-victim Louis C.K.? — say that you know you're old when the doctor stops talking about how she's going to fix your problems and starts talking about how you're gonna live with them until they either kill you or magically work themselves out. We're crossing our fingers this is something we're not going to have to just live with. We're on day four now and hoping for the best.

We come by it honest, at least. Pa had a legendarily puny back, inherited from his father and his father's father, Pa poked and prodded and prayed over by everything from chiropractors to acupuncturists during the five decades Pa got on earth. Never surgeons, though, as he had a lifelong fear of sawbones getting up inside his bodily temple for a little remodeling. At least once or twice a year we'd come home from school to find him lying in the middle of the living room floor, trying to get a pinched nerve or slipped disc to go back to the hell it came from so he could bear to get out there and hustle. The Observer, who doesn't have to lift anything heavier than a pen or coffee cup to do our job, literally feels our Old Man's pain. Right now, we're six years and change from where he was when he cashed his chips, and for Yours Truly, there might as well be a big red clock on the wall counting down the seconds.

And so here we sit, wondering whether the next time we stand will be pure, non-ouchie bliss or that feeling like a railroad spike being hammered between our vertebrae. Probably the latter, from the feel of it. There are times, Dear Reader, that we envy the invertebrates — slimy, squirmy and squishy as they may be. An exoskeleton might be quite nice right about now, we think, instead of this string of hair-trigger firecrackers that has replaced our lower spine. Then we imagine the old grubs and beetles and centipedes at their tiny version of a coffee shop, griping about carapace ache and wing warp and all the other things for which buggy doctors can only give them a teeny tiny pill and best wishes by way of a cure.

If you watch this space, you know that The Observer is both as skeered of doctors as a turkey is of cranberry sauce, while simultaneously being one of the biggest hypochondriacs alive, sure that every sniffle, rumble or pain is the Big One that's going to lay us low. While the women in The Observer's family tend to go on until they resemble a row of dried apple dolls, wizened and wry and charming as hell about everything from love troubles to how to make epic chocolate gravy, the men in our family are hothouse flowers, great until they ain't. We try not to think of that as we sit here, reminded of the fragility of these mortal bodies of ours by the dark tune growing between our L3 and L4 vertebrae, which jumps a half-octave every time we shift our keister in this chair. Now, if you'll excuse us, we're shuffling off to our bower, where we can find the momentary bliss of the horizontal for a little while. By the way: We've heard of standing desks, but does anybody make a laying down desk? If this goes on much longer, we may have to Google that. Ow. Ow-ow. Ow.

Back 40

#Back 40

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stephmolliex · 6 years

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These iOS 12 improvements will help you live a less stressful digital life

iOS 12 has a long-awaited "Digital Health" suite of enhancements, which along with other tweaks will greatly help users live a less stressful digital life. AppleInsider delves into all of iOS 12's quality of life improvements, and talks about how they'll help the iPhone-addicted. Screen Time The most prominent of the new features is Screen Time. Screen Time has several different facets, but for the majority of users it will give them insights into how much they are using their devices, where they spend the most time, and provides tools to help to reduce their usage overall. Inside of the settings app, a new section for Screen Time helps get everything set up. On top is a high-level overview of the current day's usage. It splits it up between categories such as Health & Fitness, Productivity, Entertainment, and others. Jumping into that mini widget shows a much more granular view. The widget shows sessions lengths, most used categories, how many times the phone is picked up broken out per hour and in total, and how may notifications come in and from what apps. Seeing some of these numbers may help encourage users to put their phones down and have less screen time. To help keep iPhone use time down, there is a specific category of Screen Time known as Downtime. This can be used to only allow certain apps to be accessed during times that the user wants to wind down, and get ready for bed. During these Downtime hours, if an app is opened that isn't white-listed, an alert will appear letting the user know that access is restricted. Apple's approach to this for individual users, however, is very laissez-faire. Users can still ignore this limit with a single tap. After that tap, Screen Time will prompt them again in either 15 minutes to give it a rest, or it will ignore the limit the rest of the day. All apps that are off limits during downtime will be darkened, with an hourglass icon pointing out the restriction. For parents, App Limits can be configured on a child's device to keep tabs on what the kid is doing, and what sites are being visited on the web through Family Sharing. Yes, every website. Given the trio of responsible and involved parenting, existing limitations in the Restrictions preference pane, and Screen Time, for the first time on iOS parents can have granular control and monitoring of the device spanning from no access to the internet at all to a completely unbound device. Notifications Notifications got a huge makeover in iOS 12. They are finally able to be grouped together, making dealing with notifications quicker, and much less stressful. Users can use Instant Tuning to adjust their notifications on the fly too. When a notification comes in, a swipe to the left, and a tap on Manage brings up Instant Tuning controls. Without ever touching the Settings app, notifications for an app can be turned off, or "Delivered Quietly". Deliver Quietly will send notifications to Notification Center, but won't alert you on the screen. This is handy for things that users want to keep track of, but don't need to be bothered with constantly. Another new improvement is Bedtime mode. Bedtime mode will help ease users back into notifications as they wake up. Notifications that are delivered overnight in Do Not Disturb mode will be delivered quietly into Notification Center, leaving the lock screen empty in the A.M. With iOS 12, there is need to start the day stressed out by a barrage of emails, Twitter alerts, and more right out of the gate. Deal with them on your own time, and in your own way. Siri Shortcuts A new feature added to Siri is trying to assist your digital life even more. Siri Shortcuts are quick actions that Siri can perform for users, making interactions quicker and easier. Shortcuts come from two locations -- they can be set up directly within apps once developers update with support for iOS 12, or be created from scratch by the user. Soon, a new Shortcuts app will be released that helps users create their own and gives inspiration through popular "recipes" of tasks. Apple listed and demonstrated a variety of different examples how Shortcuts can be used, from the simple to the complex. Some of Apple's concepts include: "Siri, I'm leaving" could start the car, lock the door, turn off the lights, and adjust the thermostat. "Siri, find my keys" could trigger your Tile tracker to ring. "Siri, I had another cup of coffee" could log the caffeine in the health app. "Siri, feed my dog" could dispense food from your HomeKit pet feeder. "Siri, get me home" could book an Uber and text your family you're on your way back. Apple says that Shortcuts users will be able to download 1,100 already composed solutions for problems. While we're not sure if users will be able to share Shortcuts with other iPhone owners, the available pool should rapidly grow as app developers chime in on the subject. Other improvements iOS 12 also has a number of small improvements to cut back on some long-standing user difficulties. Everybody has tried to search for a song by lyrics without knowing the title. Instead of trying to Google it, lyrics can be searched right within Music. Face ID users are now able to rescan quickly if it fails to authenticate. Now, just a simple swipe will rescan Face ID, granting access to the phone. Much easier for users. One-time passwords, which can often be as annoying as much as they are useful, are now auto-suggested by the QuickType keyboard. The quick retrieval makes easier to gain access to secure apps and websites. Of course, one of the biggest improvements is faster speed overall. Opening the Share Sheet, launching the camera, and opening apps are all noticeably quicker throughout iOS 12 on both new and old hardware. This again makes the whole user experience smoother, faster, and enjoyable for the user -- and AppleInsider will be talking about this more in the days to come. Quality of life is ultimately up to the user Apple took the right approach to the problem. Instead of forcing limits on an adult's device, or making the user jump through hoops to bypass a limit, they are skippable with little effort and easily tailorable. Of course, success of these features for any given user relies on that same user realizing that they, themselves established the limits on the phone for a reason. Plus, in the case of Siri's Shortcuts, they need to be properly configured and customized first to be a help and not a hindrance to the user. The data that Apple provides is more than enough to give the user information to make informed judgements about device usage, making it a good tool. But, any good tool loses practicality if wielded improperly, or ignored. This won't help the "five more minutes" crowd, or the "got to check the 2AM email from the boss" types who will keep tapping to ignore a limit even in the dark of night. So, like maintaining the discipline for daily work-outs that Apple facilitated with the Apple Watch, the user has to be an active, and willing, participant in the process. https://goo.gl/zWmSUC

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