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ak8shi · 4 years

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Jobs that the HQ Boys would have in college

a/n: I’m tipsy and idk what this is.,,,,many thots head full

ATSUMU: oh my god… he would work at Lulu Lemon and also be a campus rep for the brand, he looks really good in the clothes ig,, 🙄his manager fucking hated him for the first month of working there because they put him on the floor thinking he would attract people with his athletic build and good looks but he was so judgmental towards the customers, they had to put him behind the cash register LMFAO😔😭, he’s still judgmental behind the counter about the colors people pick for things but he knows he has to stfu to keep the job.. when dudes check out and have anything longer than 5.5 inseam shorts he always mumbles under his breath about feeling bad for the dude’s girlfriend 💀

BOKUTO: ALSO a Lulu Lemon rep but more of a floor/customer service person lmfao, HE SELLS things like CRAZY, people just listen to him and his expertise when it comes to the apparel because he’s so enthusiastic about it and looks so good in it, he’s the type that has 5 million different random jobs here and there : I can see him working at the campus gym as an instructor or just someone who oversees the machine area, LMFAO he’s the one who organized recreational games and sometimes referees rec volleyball!! He loves it and people ask him for advice all the time. He also stands outside of hollister shirtless on Black Friday LAMAKISKSMS, He ALSO is sponsored by one of those companies that delivers snack packages directly to college dorms HE IS SO CUTE PLEASE

SUNA: He has a job at his college campus’ library! He literally loves it because he doesn’t really have to talk to anyone besides the elderly ladies who work with him and the occasional lost underclassman, and he can do his homework on the job. Girls go to the library that he works at specifically to stare at him, and the twins come in to annoy him often too (that’s the only way they would be in a library setting) GIRL he has to KICK them out for being so loud god. He also gets the occasional offer from the campus’ student ran fashion magazine to model but he’s too embarrassed and knows he would get absolutely CLOWNED if he accepted🥺. He also ubers on the weekends sometimes and he as a 5 rating because he’s hot and never makes weird conversation with his passengers

FUTAKUCHI: MAN he would work at the mall at one of those hair kiosks LMFAOO Listen, he’s honestly the perfect person for the job because he’s pushy, confident, and h*t… when people would usually object on getting their hair done by some random at the mall, they usually say yes to him because…. Its him ugh I hate him ALSO HE’S ONE OF THOSE SKETCHY PEOPLE ON FACEBOOK THAT SELLS SCAM BEAUTY PRODUCTS (“hey girly,” PLEASEMDMF)

OSAMU: He would work a typical bus boy job in college tbh, you usually have the start from the bottom in the restaurant business and he likes the fact that the hours are pretty flexible, and that he can show up hungover as fuck and still do an okay job. Occasionally his friends will pay him to cook a meal for them, or bake something that they can impress a girl with (sometimes he purposely burns the baked goods 😭LMFAMDM) Works late a lot of times and you can catch him downtown in the parking lot scarfing down his dinner at 2 am

SHIRABU: I have no idea why this one was so obvious to me but he 100% works at a Starbucks on campus lmao, his pre-med self is just always stressed and needs coffee to stay awake, and honestly he kind of enjoys being a cunt to all the students he encounters as an outlet for his frustration (sir…💀), He’s constantly screaming at Goshiki behind the counter, and he honestly doesn’t have the patience for any Karens or those girls who complain about their order because they ordered something they didn’t mean to. He’s genuine and friendly to his regulars though and if you tip he’ll put an extra shot of espresso in your order😙

KUROO: Also another obvious one for me, he’s giving me paid lab member by day, bar tender by night vibes from a million miles away. He honestly gets offered the job in the lab because of his grades and immense understanding of chemistry in his classes and labs, and he loves it!! God.. he’s really so nerdy and you can’t tell me this man doesn’t get published multiple times in academic papers bc he DOES! The lab is great and everything but he’s only there for a few hours per week, so he seeks out a nightlife job at a bar, let me tell you that’s where he cashes out,,, 🤑 like he gets tipped really well because he’s good at conversation while not being creepy, he’s HOT as FUCK, and he makes the drinks actually strong. Truly everyone and their mom’s favorite bartender !

ARAN: THIS MAN,,, he’s so photogenic and good looking there’s not doubt in my mind that he would be an influencer on campus (Atsumu really wishes he was him lmfao💀), he has ALL the sponsors and also a huge social media following. Fashion nova men, skincare brands, athletic programs, he has so many sponsors and basically most of his Instagram is payed placement , He also promotes a lot of campus merch and bars!! Like there are definitely pics of him popping bottles with his boys on his insta and he looks so good please😈

SEMI: he would work at a piercing or tattoo salon, and honestly it happens unintentionally ?? He went in for a tattoo and he was looking at the jewelry on display and was like??? this would be so cool to be able to pierce someone!! SO he apprenticed with a worker and had a lot of his friends who wanted piercings come in for practice, also he’s the type of dude that is great at calming/reassuring people who are nervous or anxious before getting a piercing or tat, loves to play his guitar quietly in the background when he’s not busy helping a client🥰 also volunteers at the animal shelter a few times a month bc he loves animals 🥺

SAKUSA: this one is making me laugh because he would definitely work a teleprompter job thinking it would be fine since he doesn’t have to touch or interact with anyone but he ends up hating it because of how rude the people are 💀😭 he somehow gets stuck with the most obnoxious and rude clients he really can’t take it, (the way he has to repeat himself forty times... no) he brings a huge thermos of coffee to the office when he has to work and he leaves with a huge headache every time

#GIRL WHAT IS THIS IM AKAKAKAJNSMSSSMNZ #haikyuu!!#haikyuu imagine #haikyu headcanons #atsumu x reader #osamu x reader #suna x you #kuroo x reader #bokuto x reader #semi x reader #take this shit while i attempt to finish this fic😔#sakusa x reader #shirabu x reader #ch

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wri0thesley · 4 years

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dfnjvngfb please be nice to me about this because it’s VERY self-indulgent and also very explicitly self-insert and not reader-insert, but . . . i wrote some nat/prosciutto inspired by an ask i saw about being a dance teacher. and i thought; hmm. i’ve always wanted to learn how to swing dance for that 50s repro life, and i bet prosciutto would be up for that--

is this a meet cute

[brief a/n: nat is a 23 year old opera student at a fancy italian conservatory. they left a while before studying bc opera singer’s voices mature and also christ the price, they had to save up. imagine this dress. prosciutto swing dances because he likes it and also he picks up older women with rich husbands and money to burn who’ll spoil him a bit, heaven knows la squadra doesn’t pay him enough. he’s amassed quite a bit of wealth just by being older women’s - and sometimes men’s - sugar baby, but he likes the dancing enough to carry on doing it. usignolo means songbird/nightingale]

You linger outside the studio’s building for a minute, trying to gather up the courage to go inside. Sure, this had seemed like a good idea last week when you’d seen a flyer on your conservatoire’s notice board, and considered how your International Studies Coordinator had suggested getting more involved in the local community. You’re pretty sure she’d intended for you to try bars, socialising with other people your age . . . but. Well. You’ve never really been one for loud clubs or thumping music.

So you’d taken a phone number and booked a place in the class and tried to ignore the pounding of anxiety in your throat every time you thought about actually making a social commitment in a country you’ve barely been in for a month.

You bite your lip, wondering if you’re going to be overdressed. Sure, you’re used to being overdressed - being in a full face of makeup and neat heels and stockings in an eight-in-the-morning Music Theory class when your classmates look like the walking dead after a night enjoying Naples’ nightlife, but those are people who you see every day. Making a good impression on people you hope to be social with . . . that’s a totally different can of worms.

Some people have hurried past you in full ballet garb; neat chignons, elegant lines, holding their canvas dance bags and shooting you curious glances. You’re not built to be a ballet dancer, you suppose; but then again, that’s not why you’re here. You check the time again. You’re five minutes early.

Okay. Good impression. You’re not going to walk into the room ten minutes late. Maybe if you get in there early, you can seem like you belong. Ignoring the pounding in your stomach and the fact your nerves are begging you to turn back and forget this whole idea, you push into the building and make your way to the dance studio number you were told to come to. Your heels clack on the wooden floor - you’d done as much research as you could before coming here (always terrified of being out of step, or just doing things wrong), but you can’t shake the nagging anxiety that perhaps you’re going to be the sore thumb.

God, you hope you’re not a sore thumb in all the worst reasons, peeking into one of the windows of the other studios and seeing a line of willowy androgynous ballet dancers, stretching elegant limbs up to the ceiling and pointing toes of well-muscled lithe legs. You tug at your dress, nervous again of your curves and your general being.

You push open the door to Studio Number Seven.

. . . Well.

Perhaps you shouldn’t have worried about being overdressed. The other people in here wearing dresses are wearing nice floral prints and swing skirts and neat cardigans. Your own black dress seems a little somber in comparison (cheered up by one of your collection of 1950s embroidered brooches), but that’s not the thing you notice.

The thing you notice is the silver hair, the glasses perched on noses, the crow’s feet and the indulgent smiles when they see you.

You are certainly not going to be befriending peers, that’s for sure.

The instructor herself only has about a decade on you, and you’re almost relieved to see that she’s wearing a cherry-printed dress with faux Bettie Page bangs. That’s more like your kind of people. She bounces up to you, neat and enthusiastic.

“You’re Nat, right?” She asks, smiling, and you find yourself smiling back. “I know you said you were a student, but I was still expecting someone . . .” She gestures vaguely at the room around her, and you can’t help but let some of the tension drain out of your shoulders.

“Yeah,” you say, “I’m not sure what I was expecting.”

She laughs.

“Well,” she says, “it’s a dying art, swing dancing! We should be glad that there are young people wanting to take it up. Do you have any experience at all? You’re certainly dressed the part!” She winks at you. “I love seeing the outfits, honestly - one of my favourite parts of teaching for sure!”

You shake your head.

“Not in swing dance,” you say. “A little in ballet and tap, but I guess that’s . . . not a transferable skill, huh?” She claps your shoulder.

“It means you’ve got some rhythm in you,” she says. “Now, let me see -- ah! I have the perfect partner for you. He’ll give you a hand whilst you’re finding your feet--”

She turns on her heel and disappears into the crowd of students, and that’s when you see him for the first time. He’s taller than the rest of the elderly bowed students, stoop-shouldered - standing above them with a quantity of slicked back blond hair and cheekbones you could cut diamonds with, sharply tailored suit cut to show off a muscled chest. He sees you looking at him and he turns his gaze on you, blue eyes icy, sweeping across your form in a way that makes you avert your eyes and try not to be swallowed up by the studio floor. You see, from the corner of your eye, the smirk . . . and then you see the instructor come over to him, tug gently on his arm and speak softly under her breath.

You’re flustered as the instructor brings the handsome blond over to you, flush rising to your cheeks - seeing your reaction to him, the man shoots you a charming smile, revealing the slightest overbite and a gap in his teeth, and oh . . . that’s unfair. He inclines his head, a half bow, holding out one hand for you to take as the instructor nods.

“This is Armando,” she says to you. “I think he’ll be a wonderful partner, he’s been coming here for months and he’s such a good teacher, I should be paying him some of my salary!”

“Just because you’re such a good teacher, I’m sure,” the blond man says. He turns to you as the instructor shoots you a wink and moves away to go towards the front of the room. His eyes on you make you burn warm. You resist the urge to chew on your lip, looking up at him through lowered lashes.

“Did she . . .” You nod towards the instructor, “partner us together because you’re closer in age to me than everyone else?”

The man hums, a small smile on his handsome face, as you hesitantly take his hand. His fingers are soft and warm but self-assured as he moves closer, other hand landing on the curve of your waist. His aftershave smells woodsy and smoky and it’s all you can do to not breathe it in deeply.

“Perhaps,” he remarks, voice soft and deep. “I am only sixty five.”

“You must have an amazing skincare routine.”

He smirks.

“I do.”

The instructor claps her hands together at the front of the class and you both turn, but his hand doesn’t let go of yours and his grip on your waist doesn’t falter. From the corner of your eye, you see looks from the other women in the class that are obviously jealousy. You try to ignore it; it’s unusual, for you to be the one people are jealous of. It’s almost . . . nice.

Still. You’re trying to make friends, so you don’t gloat in it.

The instructor talks, moving across the room, gently correcting some people’s holds, talking animatedly. She pauses by you and Armando, but she nods and smiles instead of touching you. As you and he begin to move, slowly, he leans in closer.

“You know . . . my name,” he says (there’s a lingering impression that something about this statement makes him uncomfortable; it’s strange to hear him sound unsure when every inch of him oozes confidence and surety). “But I don’t know yours. What brings you to our jolly class?”

“Nat,” you say, “just . . . just Nat.” He tips his head, leaving the conversation open, his eyes utterly focused on you in a way that you’ve never really felt. He seems genuinely invested. “I’m an opera singer. A student, I mean. At . . . at the conservatorio?”

“Ah,” he says, smiling. “A nightingale.”

You blush, and the hand on your waist tightens imperceptibly at the way your eyes flicker away from him in embarrassment at the sweet name.

“And the swing dance?” He asks, one eyebrow raised. “I mean . . . I’m not complaining, but as you can see . . .” He inclines his head at the other students.

“I just . . . like the fifties. You know . . . elegant dresses, petticoats, the music . . . I’m not romanticising it or anything, but I just like that idealised idea of it, you know? A-anyway! What about you? Y-you don’t look like the type--”

“Touche,” he says, smiling softly, but he doesn’t say anything beyond that.

You and he spend the rest of the lesson partnered together. He’s elegant, quick, smiling at you when you catch his eye amongst a whirl of petticoats and a breathless swell of the music. You know that you’re a little clumsy on your feet (you can’t help that! Not with a man like this so close to you, leaning down to murmur close to your face, holding onto your waist so firmly as if he doesn’t want to let you go).

He murmurs things about some of the other students as he whirls you around, that make you laugh and widen your eyes and insist ‘no!’. Every time he gets a rise out of you, a response of flushed cheeks and giggles and demurely turned down eyes, he seems to get a little more intense on how he’s handling you.

You’re in a mess of a beating heart and short breath and pink cheeks by the time that the instructor calls time on the day’s class, and you feel like you’ve had a successful time. Sure, you didn’t mingle with anybody else but . . . Armando, but you’ve had a good time. You feel confident and excited at the prospect of next week’s lesson. Pulling away from him and straightening yourself out a little, you offer him an apologetic smile.

“Sorry if I wasn’t very good,” you say. “I’m . . . I’m not the most graceful.” You gesture down to the curves of your body, that often feel so ungainly and as if they’re taking up more space than you deserve to. “I guess you’ll go back to another partner next week, but thank you for helping--”

He quirks his lips, one eyebrow raised.

“I don’t have to.” He says. “I’m perfectly content to partner you, you know. You were . . . Well.” He laughs, a little soft noise that you can tell from the look in his eyes isn’t intended to be at all mocking. “You were a pleasure to dance with, if we were off-beat plenty of the time.” He pauses. “And . . . if you want, I’d be more than happy to go over some things with you before next week’s session,” he says, his words easy, and your heart skips a beat. You’d worried that maybe he’d be annoyed by being paired off with someone who’s got no idea what they’re doing, by someone who looks like you when a man like that probably spends most of his time surrounded by people just as beautiful--

“Really?” You ask, blinking up at him. “I don’t want to be an imposition.”

His laugh is light again, his fingers gently dancing up your arm, a touch that’s intended - you’re sure - to be comforting, but that sends a frisson of electricity all through you.

“Oh, you won’t be. As long as you’re willing to indulge me with dinner first, bella.”

You know that your blood rushes to your face even beneath the powder and the makeup, and you know, too, that there’s no way he misses it. A smirk pulls at the corner of his full mouth, and you question whether you actually fell over and hit your head at some point and are now hallucinating.

“Perhaps afterwards,” you tell him. “I don’t know if I could dance on a full stomach.”

He laughs, the noise low and smooth. You can feel jealous eyes on your back - and can you blame them? Look at him.

“I didn’t say it would be dancing, did I?”

“I--” Your brain moves lightning fast, trying to get your brain to respond to him in kind, but he doesn’t give you time to think of something witty. The hand on your arm moves, dancing across your collarbone, brushing the vintage brooch, resting briefly on the full warmth of your cheek, tipping your face up to him.

“Verpazza, Wednesday night, 9PM,” he says to you. You recognise the name of one of the more upscale restaurants you pass on your way to classes from your shitty rented room in the boarding house for international students, and you fight to stop your eyes widening. Your poor student budget certainly wouldn’t allow for such luxuries. “Ask for Prosciutto’s table if you’re there before me. I’ll take care of it.”

There’s something in his smile that suggests to you he loves the idea of taking care of things; that he’s getting a real thrill out of playing the knight in shining armour. Well. You’ve heard plenty of tell about Italian men (and plenty of horror stories from other people in your class) - but he seems . . . indulgent. Like he loves the idea of providing for someone.

“Like the ham?” You ask him, and a flicker of amusement passes over his face. “Is that your surname?”

A flash of something else in his eyes. You can’t quite name it - but you don’t fail to notice his eyes flicker, as if checking nobody else is listening. He tries to keep his voice easy.

“Mm. An unfortunate family name, and a name that’s stuck.” He winks at you. “You’ll never hear anybody outside of this room call me . . . Armando.” The name sounds wrong on his tongue, the slightest grimace following the syllables. Blue eyes turning icy, just for a moment. He pulls himself back, smiling at you again. “You can call me Prosh, if you want.”

“You don’t seem the nickname type.” He laughs.

“Mm. Well. . . I’d prefer to hear the full thing, but if it’s your voice, usignolo--”

You recognise the nickname and flush, warm. The smile he gives you is crooked and makes your toes curl in your heels, your entire body feel warm, your head feel light. Okay, you might not have made friendly connections . . . but you’ve certainly made some kind of connection.

“Wednesday?” You ask him, again, wanting to really feel sure. You’ve been . . . stood up, plenty of times. Used as a joke. Your shoulders draw in imperceptibly, but Prosciutto - you try and reconcile calling him after the meat - tilts his head to the side.

“Your phone,” he says, holding out a hand. “Let me put my number in, and you can call it for proof. I’m perfectly serious, cara. I’m a man of my word.” He looks at you softly, hand on your waist, and gently helps guide you out of the studio. Most of the other dancers have left by now, and you can see the instructor glancing towards you and clearly waiting for you two to leave too so she can prepare for her next class. Pausing in the corridor, he looks down at you, face perfectly serious. “I don’t know who’s had the nerve to hurt you in the past . . . but I’m not that kind of person.”

You bite your lip, and he shifts closer to you. He’s not incredibly tall, but you’re small enough that the height difference feels pronounced. The hand is soft when he tips your chin up, blue eyes meeting blue eyes. His own are half-lidded, drifting down to your lips (when you’d applied the dark red lipstick marketed as ‘kissproof’ this morning, you hadn’t thought that it was going to be something that was tested!). He leans into you and you find yourself unconsciously rising onto your tiptoes--

The kiss he gives you is almost chaste, save for the slightest nip at your lower lip (you think about the gap between his front teeth and feel like you’re going to melt). Your breath stutters against his, the taste of mint toothpaste and smoke and honey leaving a tingle upon your mouth.

“I’m serious,” he breathes against you, pulling back. “Nine in the evening. Wear something pretty,” his eyes flicker down, caressing the curves of your body in a way that makes you warm all over. “. . . though I don’t doubt you will.”

#nat.txt #self ship postin #writing #this is. self indulgence at its finest.#is this canon? who knows but its Cute Concept #pronat i guess #pronat

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ferallymine · 4 years

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Worldbreaker Pt. 1

The rubble. The screams. The frantic hands digging through the mess above her buried broken lifeless body. The last stone moving away- seeing the white light shine onto her. A hand reaching out-

Mardea shot up, sweat covering her body. Reaching out to see the alarm clock, she had to bite down a yelp of pain.

“Not…again…” Her voice was tired and straining. Black Energy had marked her arms in the night, leaving burns on her skin and the sheets.

She stumbled into her bathroom, slamming the cold water handle on to fill the tub. Her feet sizzled on the chilled ivory tile, heat coming off her body in waves. She shouldn’t be this hot with just panties and a loose cotton tank top on, but this is one of many burdens of being Mardea Lin.

The water stung her tender burnt skin. Steam hissed from her body, distracting her from wanting to scream. Mardea hadn’t been severely burned by fire, but she imagined they were just as bad as her energy burns. Izzy’s the only one she ever felt the need to explain the difference to. His curiosity was always humorous to her.

The fact that the water was ice cold made the next part easier. Keeping thoughts in her mind to ground her to reality, Mardea submerged herself completely in the tub.

Green wisps flowed out from her palms. Interacting with the water, they went to work cooling her down and resolving her burns. A waterlogged scream escaped her throat, the sensory overload and pain being overwhelming. The burnt skin ripped itself off, attaching to the energy swirling around it. New unblemished skin replaced it quickly- unnatural if one didn’t have a medic-related quirk.

It felt like hours, but Mardea was done in minutes. The water was grey and heavily clouded when she sat back up, now shivering from the cold. Her stomach churned, and without a moment to react, she vomited into the already dirty water.

“…fuck…” her voice was a quaky whisper. She couldn’t keep going on like this.

The push and pull of energy forces from within herself danced with the outside ones. It was as if something out there wanted her to lose control, wanted Code Black to become the new normal.

The water-vomit mixture spiraled down the drain. Mardea waited until the tub was empty before fighting for strength to rinse herself off with the shower.

Morning couldn’t come soon enough.

-----

“But consider the reverse!” Kaminari shoved a spoonful of cereal in his mouth, “If you had a human head and a bird body, all the villains would be too scared to fight and you could round ‘em up easy!”

“Easily,” Tokoyami corrected, pulling his hoodie as he stood up to leave, “And that is utterly ridiculous.”

Sero set his coffee down, “Does that mean if Hawks was reversed he’d have a bird body and human arms on his back?!”

“Holy. Shit. Dude.” Kaminari looked like he had an epiphany, “That would be…terrifying. I love it.”

Ashido slammed her hands flat on the table, “KIRI WOULD BE A ROCK THAT TURNS INTO A BALL OF FLESH!”

“Noooooo,” Kirishima groaned, leaning back with his hands on his face, “I was already a ball of flesh in the hero test! Unpleasant, 0 out of 10 do not recommend.”

Sero giggled, “Guys, guys listen… Bakugo… Is an explosion that throws out humans.”

An eruption of laughter consumed the living room of the dorms. The noise echoed into the hallway leading to the stairs.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Kirishima wiped a tear from his eye, “Does, ehehehe, does that mean that mean that he’s a continuous explosion or like, hah, one out of every 5 explosions is Bakugo randomly spurting out humans to attack villains.”

The laughter quieted, giving the group time to think, then Ashido spoke, “Can you imagine if the latter was true? Like, if you’re a villain using C4 to break into a bank then suddenly ‘I AM A VERY ANGRY EXPLOSION HAVE SOME HUMANS TO THE FACE!’ Bruh, I’d shit my pants.”

“What about the former?” A sudden appearance of Lin behind Kaminari made him jump and spill his cereal. “If he’s a continuous explosion he’d have to be put in a container to function as a ‘human’ in society. Imagine shoving Boom-boy into a reinforced Smucker’s jam jar.”

The laughter resumed. Kirishima looked up to ask Lin a question, “Hey, what if- wait. Lin you’re glowing.”

A brief panic, “Wh- no I’m not.” She looked herself over, “I’m not outputting any en-“

“No! Your skin is radiant,” A cheeky smile, “Did you do a new skincare routine from YouTube?”

A pause, “…Yes…that’s what I did.”

Ashido’s eyes sparkled, “DEAAAAAA you gotta show me!”

“Maybe later, after you bring your grade to a B.” She winked, “Anyway, I’m hungry, see ya later.” Lin meandered over to the kitchen, where Uraraka was making what smelled like waffles.

“… aaaand voila!” Uraraka flailed her arms in a dramatic manner, “A Together Breakfast!” The platter was filled with waffles topped with syrup, whipped cream, popcorn, and strawberries.

“Wow!” Midoriya’s stomach rumbled, “This looks great! Thank you!”

She giggled, “I made enough for everyone so dig in!” She gestured to those surrounding the counter. “Let our Saturday breakfast tradition begin!”

Lin leaned on Todoroki’s shoulder, the sudden contact startling him, “It’s just me, don’t worry.”

“Hello, love,” He tilted his head to lean on hers, “Sleepy?”

“Sore…”

“Training yesterday was that rough?”

“…Yes.” She straightened. Her silent body language purposely telling him that she didn’t wanna talk about it in front of the others. “My whole body feels vulnerable and tender. Like one touch will bruise for days.”

“Take it easy today, then,” He smiled, “Eat something to regain your strength.” A soft kiss to her head, reminding her that they can talk privately later.

“Hey Frick and Frack, save the PDA for when we’re not eating,” Bakugo sat on the counter, munching on toast with tomato and cheese slices on top. “You’re gonna make me puke.”

“Your taste in breakfast food will make me puke,” Midoriya stuck out his tongue.

“Says fucking you. Who eats shitty popcorn for breakfast?”

“It’s not popcorn, it’s pepcorn!” Uraraka tossed a kernel at the blonde, “Popcorn with a pep!”

Bakugo scowled, staring the group down. He swiped the kernel away from him, “You’re not original, this is all from YouTube.”

“Stop being such a fucking killjoy,” Jirou slammed her glass of juice down on the counter. “We get it, your aesthetic is to hate everything and think you’re the best. Don’t you get tired of having your head so far up your own ass? Huh?”

“I’m done,” Lin backed away and turned towards the hallway. “It’s too early for arguing.”

Yaoyorozu stood up, “Mardea, don’t go! We were gonna go out today! The Saturday Flea Market is up in the plaza across town!”

Fuck I forgot “Yeah, right…. Lemme put on proper ‘going out’ clothes.” A snap and she was gone in a green flash.

------

“Isn’t this fun! Nice to stretch our legs on a sunny day off.” Momo did a little spin, flowing out the bottom of her sunflower sundress.

Tsuyu joined the twirling, though her green romper left little to flow out. “Ribbit, it’s the perfect temperature today. I bet the pools will be packed.”

“Whaddaya think, ‘Dea?” Mina, clad in her pastel blue crop top and matching shorts, “Should we try swimming today or just mingle in the market?”

Mardea thought a moment, “Market wandering sounds good for now. Plus I didn’t bring a swimsuit- I doubt jean overalls would fair well in a pool.”

“Hmm, fair point.” Mina skipped ahead, stopping at a sunglasses stall. The sun reflected off them, making the products glitter and look more enticing.

Mardea glanced around the crowd. Mina was at that stall, whereas Tsuyu and Momo had been lost to the growing population of the market. The tips of her hair shifted to magenta. Her eyes scanned the scenery. Where were their energy signatures?

“Nice trick,” Mardea froze at the unfamiliar voice behind her, magenta instantly switching to lilac, “Color shifting is good for quick blending into crowds, though I feel that this little cosmetic show is a front for your quirk.”

It was a feminine sounding voice- maybe an older woman who smoked on occasion?

“I can feel your thoughts from back here, pumpkin.” A warm hand gripped her right shoulder, “You don’t have to turn around, I know who you are, Mardea. Don’t you think it’s strange that I snuck up on you with your magenta setting on?”

The lilac grew.

“You don’t need to be afraid. I want to help you. There’s a lot of energy in this world, you know. How would it be to not feel like it’ll crush you at any moment? What if you could control it? Not your definition of control- you still let that Code Black sit alone, festering. What if you could harness it?”

“Hey ‘Dea?” Mina’s voice called out, “We got lunch! Where ya at?”

“I will find you again,” The hand left, “Be wary, Mardea. You’re not the only one who knows energy.”

Momo came through the people, “Guys! She’s over here!” She turned, smiling, “Where have you- oh my god are you okay? You’re purple-y.”

Mardea looked up, eyes matching her hair, “We need to leave. Now.”

“Okay yeah. Yeah.” Momo took her twin’s hand, “You’re okay now. We’re here.” Mina and Tsuyu emerged, confused at the color shift. Momo pointed at them, “We’re leaving. Now. Back to UA.”

-----

“You’re sure it was a woman?” Aizawa sat across from Lin in his office.

Lin shrugged, “That what she sounded like. She snuck up on me, didn’t let me turn around.” She pulled her shirt collar over to expose her shoulder, “She bruised me when she grabbed me.”

Aizawa raised an eyebrow, “How did she do that?”

“I DON’T KNOW!” Lin’s stress boiled over, red and lilac strands forming in her hair, “I don’t know who she is all I know is I didn’t sense her and she said I wasn’t the only one who knew energy and that she’s gonna find me again and I don’t know how to not let that happen because if I cant find her then no one can find her probably like how-” A gasp of air, hair returning to normal, as Aizawa grabbed her shoulders, kneeling in front of her.

“You need to calm down.” His voice was calm. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m not going to tell you to not worry, because I know you will anyway. All the teachers will be on the lookout for suspicious women around campus. I’ll let the Pro-Heroes know that this happened and see if they can snoop out anything. Okay?”

“Okay…” She leaned forward, hugging him with tears in her eyes, “Thank you…”

A smile, “It’s okay.”

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kyuala · 5 years

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monsta x in são paulo (19.07.19)

hey y'all this post is to tell my experience during my concert and hi touch event of the we are here world tour last friday night 🤩 so buckle up bc its a LONG ONE but i divided it into categories so u dont have to read everything if u dont want to!

the concert in general: ok so the concert was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. there were about 7 songs i didn’t really listen to a lot or liked before the concert but even those were amazing and had me jumping and screaming and going crazy. they’re all SO much more beautiful irl which is like !!!!!!!!! HOW. and they’re so so SO talented all the choreos were incredible and their voices!!! sound even better irl. hyungwon asked minhyuk to sing a little bit of play it cool acapella for us and his voice 😭😭😭 so sweet it’s like honey. they brought hero back to life which was. an experience to see live tbh. i got to the venue line at 9:30am (10.5 hours before the concert) and i was about maybe 15? rows away from the stage (bc i had to go pee real quick as soon as they let us inside) but im like 158cm (5'2) tall so even tho i was standing on this little protection thingy to be taller i still couldn’t see them that well :( i dont think i saw any choreos in full bc of that but it was still amazing to see them do it irl. they all introduced themselves in portuguese during the first ment it was super 🤩 adorable! most of them only said “oi, eu sou ___” (“hi, i am ___”) but some of them had longer phrases prepared (maybe kh, jh and ck? i believe) which was so awesome to see!! during the second ment, hw talked about how some of their songs were composed by their own members and he did that to introduce “our maknae’s song” (aka mohae) and my soul left my body. after jealousy there was the first vcr which was like a youtuber au vcr and it was so!!!!! cute hyungwon, minhyuk and wonho giving us styling, skincare and exercising tips respectively, jooheon making a burrito he named "honey-to", kihyun and kyun teaching us how to make coffee and how to speak english resp and of course nunu's famous asmr mukbang 🥰🥰🥰 it was honestly superrrrr cute and funny i remember hyungwon trying to spell a word in english and just going "..........ne" after the first two letters and then kyun snickering skejdkksdk and jooheon making fun of ck for something and ck laughing the fakest laugh i ever seen in my life lmao and i also remember ki telling us to be careful about a lot of things but most of all our hearts bc he's gonna steal them 😷🤒🤕 but yes i loved it it was v cute and v funny and i loved how they were all interacting with each other even tho it was separate videos. after the unit stages, hyungwon revealed that joo had actually changed up his routine for a more samba-like beat specially for brazil 🥺 he confirmed that and we went INSANE and started showing them our own beat (a classic carioca funk "tchu tcha tcha tchu tchu tcha" that we fo with our mouths/words) and at first they were all like ??????? but then they LOVED IT and joined in on the fun. mh and kh were dancing to it the most and it was so funny. hyungwon or minhyuk then asked jooheon if he could incorporate our beat into his beatboxing and he said it was possible and then we were all just going TCHU TCHA TCHA TCHU TCHU TCHA while he was beatboxing along and he said it was difficult skdjkekddk around five or six different times they told us to take steps back and step a little bit away from each other so we wouldn't hurt ourselves or feel ill (hyungwon did it the most, he actually spotted a girl nearly fainting in the front rows and brought staff's attention to her and he only stopped talking about it/got more relaxed when they did something about it). during this same ment they talked about sn's and wh's different choice of clothing for their unit stage and said it was more daring and sexy and shownu said that kihyun actually chose those clothes for them lmao and ki said he chose them bc he knew us brazilian mbbs would love it and we were like wow. They Know we're whores love that. then someone was like "u chose that?? ur kinda conservative tho????" and ki said he's been "open-minded since birth" KDJSKFKDK rip conservative brothers but the way the lady translated it accidentally kinda made it sound that he was like. open for romantic/sexual advances and we were all like 👀👀👀 OKAY. oh also sometime during the concert one of them slipped and nearly fell doing something stupid (i think wonho or changkyun) skndkskdk the second vcr was the seven deadly sins themed and wow. the PRODUCTION. the absolute ARTISTRY of it all. wheres their oscar. it was honestly super cool but minhyuk was the only member that hadn't appeared yet and the only sin left was lust so we were all like 👁️😏 but then it said AGONY. ????????? it was kinda confusing but amazing nonetheless kyun wanted to shoot hyungwon but then he didnt bc the underlying message was that they all committed sins and blamed themselves but managed to find forgiveness by being together aw <3 a random moment that i dont remember when it happened was when kyun was speaking portuguese to us and he was trying to say "vocês querem curtir?" (which is something like "do you want to have fun?") but he messed it up a bit and accidentally said "vocês querem cu...?" which means "do you want asshole?" and we were all like BOY DKEJDKEJDIDKFKS i dont think he knows what it actually means but he corrected himself real quick and moved on to the next song 💀 for the second to last ment they tried to convince us the concert was ending (lmao) and there was only one song left, so we were all shouting "não" ("no") and they were like "we cant go??????" and we were like "no!!!!!" and they were like :/ oh well guess we gotta stay kdnskdjs they had the brazilian flag up there for some time but they also somehow got an lgbt pride flag there too for the pics??? before the ending ment kihyun said that they all have strengths, as i recall kyun's was writing cool songs/lyrics, shownu's was being fun, i think minhyuk's was having a voice like honey? and i dont recall the rest but when he got to hyungwon he just said "being very tall" and we were all like LMAO SAY SOMETHING ELSE ABOUT HIM!!!! and then he said an actual compliment lol for the actual last ment they each said goodbye to us, i specifically remember wonho telling us that the energy we had and him performing on stage for us reminded him of why he was a singer and why he had to be on stage 🥺🥺🥺 and shownu agreed 🥺 kyun(?) said even though he's going back to korea he's gonna feel incomplete bc he's leaving brazil, ki said he liked us so much he could have another 6 concerts here bc our energy would be enough to keep him going and then said something really greasy that i dont remember but obviously loved at the moment. and then they said they're coming back next year 🤩 and they told us to take care of ourselves and wait for them and come back next year (in a bigger venue, they said!) and they all had their pinky fingers up and were saying "promete" ("promise", but as in the imperative verb) to us 😭😭😭

the songs: i was going to put my videos in this post but there’s a video limit so i’m gonna post them separately later but the first song was shoot out and unfortunately i didn’t get to film any of it because i was in SHOCK that they were REAL PEOPLE and RIGHT THERE u know dkjskdkd then was hero and it was INSANE to see it live??? seeing them do the “i can be your hero i can be your man” move IN REAL LIFE????? not to be a kihyun stan but i had kihyun tunnel vision during the entirety of the song lmfao then it was trespass and the energy was INSANE everybody was going absolutely crazy to it esp during the chorus and jooheon’s “excuse my charisma"s!!! after the ment they performed party time and we had this fan project and the people in my area had yellow cellophane on their phone lights and the people in the back had green ones (brazilian colors) and we had them on during the entirety of party time bc they mention brazil in the song and it was just so 🥰🥰🥰 such a vibe! one of the only songs i actually danced to lol party time was next and also a ~vibe~ we all danced a lot to it and after it was over, during the ment, hw asked mh to sing a little of it for us and he was sooo happy to see us sing along and sing the entire chorus even after he had stopped! it was super cute to see him smile so proudly like that. and then it was the loml, my fave mx song, a booty call anthem that somehow moves my heart, miss mohae and as soon as i heard the first few beats i SCREAMED and i was the only one doing that before everybody else realized the song had already started but i didnt even have time to be embarrassed bc i was literally tearing up. honestly hearing it live was one of the best moments of my life bc i have this huge emotional attachment to the song and it was just all super special, i was screaming the lyrics at the top of my lungs and dancing and jumping and yelling. seeing kyun’s rap live was amazing and you could actually SEE how proud he was seeing so many people sing a song HE composed you know? he let us rap most of his part bc he was just in awe and wanted to see us sing it back to him. and hyungwon tried to rap jooheon’s part but he got it all messed up halfway through it was SO CUTE and jooheon had an arm around him and was BEAMING WITH LOVE the entire time 😍😍😍 everyone was fonding HARD at him. and the crowd was SO loud during the "don’t kill my vibe, i be on your way, i be, i be on your way” part it was actually deafening. i only recorded one of the choruses bc i wanted to enjoy the rest of the song but here it is! the next song was one of the other lomls, miss jealousy!!! it was absolutely STUNNING!! and yes the crowd went crazy when wonho mentioned shownu and yes that hyungwon+changkyun part IS as overwhelming to experience irl as it looks. after the youtuber vcr came the unit stages and oh. my. god mh, hw and kh came out first and it was just. so sexy and elegant. and the vocals? 10/10 LOVED that men in suit shit. then was jooheon's and changkyun's stage and HOLY. FUCKIN. SHIT. absolutely my favorite performance of the night it was EVERYTHING to me. the energy was super fuckin cool and we were all jumping around and screaming while they rapped in sexy robes over a cool ass beat it was awesome. in the middle of the performance joo tried to flip a water bottle (???) and he actually failed lol but we were so hype we didnt even notice/care we just hyped him TF up. he later apologized for it during the next ment and the real time translator lady said "desculpa" ("sorry") and changkyun said "yeah, desgupa" immediately after 🥺 then jooheon had a drum solo which ??????? i had zero fucking idea about i was just kinda standing there in shock while he absolutely murdered that drum set right in front of our eyes. AND THEN ck came back and started to rap along to his drumming and i know im saying this a lot but it was SEXY okay i have no other words they were both in muscle tees just out there being their sexiest selves UGH. and AS IF THAT WASN'T ENOUGH then came wonho and shownu's stage and uhhhhhhh wow. SEXY AS WELL but also kinda angsty? idk but i loved it they absolutely killed it with the dance and they were wearing see through shirts and the crowd went insane. after that there were the songs i didn't listen to a lot or liked before the concert but they were all still amazing to me!! honestly, i do love u, white sugar and no reason were all SUPER cute!! AND THEN. miss myself came on and oh my god. it was a spiritual experience to see it live. absolutely amazing and breathtaking even though it's so simple. like it's just so elegant and moving. i had to close my eyes a couple times to feel the moment and it was an amazing sensation. also!! a few girls gave us free banners to lift after kihyun's high note and they said 주변을 돌아봐 내겐 다 너니까 꿈이 아냐 (shownu's line, "turn and look around, because you're everything to me this isn't a dream") and it was SO emotional to see a sea of these red banners showing them our love!!

it was amazing AND THEN. dramarama oh my god it was so freakinggggg cool! to see the performance live, jooheon milly rocking right in front of my eyes... amazing. everyone went insane during rapline's first part. one of my fave performances for sure!! next song after the ment was oh my and IT WAS AMAZING!! the choreo was just stunning and the energy!! everyone was just jumping around and screaming the lyrics, esp kihyun's line before the last chorus!! and im absolutely obsessed with the choreo, honestly. then special and fallin' were SO COOL, just like the other upbeat songs, the energy was amazing, everyone was jumping around and screaming the lyrics. fallin' was especially hype as hell and minhyuk did this funny low voice dkjskdkd then it was alligator and listen. i hated it when it came out but when they performed it i had never loved a song so much in my life. it was CLEAR it was one of the performances they were working the hardest on and their talents were really shining through 😔 i had ki and shownu tunnel vision unfortunately i missed kyun's iconic hip thrusts sksjdks but theres always next year i guess! so they had just convinced us it was their last song but after a few mins hyungwon came back out and we met H.One hehe i didnt think i would like it bc i thought it would be mostly edm and i dont really like edm but it was just some really good remixes?? he played taki taki and mi gente and everybody went fuckin insane like i remember my knee hurting super bad during this part and he was just. chilling on the stage sjejdjsk BUT THEN CAME THE TRUE GO CRAZY AAHHHH GO STUPID MOMENT OF THE CONCERT: RODEO. boy was it a fuckin ride. truly the time to fuckin wild out at an mx concert. i think it was during this song that minhyuk (?) put a brazilian flag around jooheon's shoulders so we were even more hype!! last song was by my side and it was super calm and bittersweet and like a "goodbye, ily" song :( we had these paper hearts someone gave us and we kept them up for them during the entire song, it was so lovely

the hi touch: ok so the concert ended and we waited around 50 mins for the ht event to start and we were all in a single line that went behind a curtain and THEY WERE ALREADY BEHIND THE CURTAIN SO THERE WAS NO WAY TO PREPARE FOR IT KDJDJDJD they were all standing behind a table and on the other side of the table was some of their staff on a single line to keep people from taking pictures of them and we had to go through the line of staff and the table to see them/touch their hands. it was SUPER rushed i dont think i spent 3 seconds there. my brain absolutely froze bc it was my first time at a hi touch (or first time meeting a celebrity, ever) and it was like 7 people i love and admire all at once so i couldn't manage to say more than "hi" to them and just look at them in shock and i was going faster as they (staff) told me to go faster (stupid) but they were also telling us to use only one hand and not touch their hand with both of ours but fuck that lol so in general they are all real people which is insane??? but also they ARE all SO much more beautiful in real life. like they literally glow. my friends told me they would seem taller and skinnier than i thought but i honestly didnt have the time or the brains to think about that or notice any of that. hyungwon IS tall as fuck though

kihyun: just my luck, my first bias was the first one of the line. as i walked behind the curtain there was a taller girl in front of me in line so i couldn't see much so i had like no time to process anything ksjskdks as soon as i saw it was him i went "oh my god, hi" (yes in english bc i know he understands basic english and doesn't speak portuguese lol) and he was SO sweet like it was literally half a second but his face softened and he said "hiiii" back and gave me the sweetest smile :( hes an angel on earth and i can prove it ok. hi touch aside, he's VERY confident onstage and also VERY greasy lmao he was shooting greasy stuff at us left and right and we ATE IT ALL UP. but he's also incredibly sweet and funny but like we been knew. every time he said something greasy he would expectantly wait for the lady to finish translating so he could see our reaction and afterwards he ALWAYS had that smile where he gets those dimples below his eyes :( he's one of the most talkative members!

shownu: mistre hyunwoo was second in the line and i was still in shock from seeing the loml so all i said was "hi" and he honestly seemed confused that i, a brazilian, was trying to speak english to him, a korean DJJSKDKD but he said hi very quick and had this small smile. he's taller than he seems?? i think? at least onstage and he's also very bashful no matter what he's saying lol unless it's serious stuff like him agreeing with wonho during the ending ment

wonho: ok so i dont remember the order exactly after the first two bc i started to like. have brain death but i THINK it was wonho but i saw him VERY quickly. idk if it's bc i saw him right after shownu or if he was bending forward or what but he's actually shorter than i thought he was. he had the HUGEST smile on his face and was super excited to say hi back to my dumbstruck face lol he's also?? surprisingly commanding?? like he's not imposing or anything bc he's super gentle but he told us to be quiet while he was speaking (.......lol) bc we were screaming and when he started to speak again this group of girls continued screaming and he looked at them DIRECTLY, FROM THE STAGE, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MENT, POINTED AT THEM and deadass went "i have already told you to be quiet twice" and everyone was like??? in shock bc we didn't know if he was serious so we were just like 😳😳😮😮 it was very bizarre honestly a surreal moment to see wonho talk like that to any monbebe ever (for the record im not saying he was rude or anything, it was just very surprising to see that happen). i clearly remember these 3 older ladies referring to him as "primo" ("cousin") for some reason during the entire concert and idk why but that's so funny to me? it's kinda stuck in my mind now im gonna start calling him primo. he ripped his shirt off a total of two (2) different times, maybe three, one of them unprompted and unrequested, during a slow song. love that for him

hyungwon: oh boy. here we go. when my friends told me he was the most different one irl and that he was incredibly prettier i was like ok and then i saw him on the stage and was like yeah alright he's a little different but nothing too exceptional but holy. crap. he was never my type but when i saw him face to face i think my mind literally blacked out. like my body was still functioning but my mind just completely shut down when i saw him smiling at me and saying hi. like that didn't happen with kihyun, one of my ULTIMATE BIASES, but it happened when i saw HIM, that's how beautiful he is. im not using any of these words lightly, but he's beautiful, pretty, stunning, overwhelmingly handsome, an angel. he's just indescribable. his hair is so long and pretty and his face is just so soft and beautiful and he has the prettiest looking lips. has heavy vampire boyfriend vibes also. one of the quietest members, i barely have any pics of him bc he was rarely ever on the big screen bc he didnt say much. tall as hell too

minhyuk: listen i am SO SAD about this i was so overwhelmed by hyungwon's face my mind completely blanked when i got to minnie and i have no idea what i did, i don't even know if i said anything or if i just stared at him dumbfounded sjejjdjsd i have no recollection of his face at ALL like my mind was not able to process anything after hyungwon BUT i know he is pretty as hell (wbk) and he's also even sexier on stage!! like his presence and his moves are just very sensual and he is one of the most talkative ones too! we already know that but he is SUPER funny he never missed an opportunity to do something completely bizarre i just love that funky lil cowboy HE HAD A COWBOY HAT OVER HIS CAP DURING RODEO AND HE ALSO WORE THE FUNNIEST BRAZILIAN FLAG SUNGLASSES DURING HIS ENDING MENT HERE HE IS

jooheon: yall. he is SO. so so so SOOOO much prettier irl like he doesn't LOOK any different like hyungwon does but he's just even more beautiful up close and he also looks taller than i pictured? his whole face was just lit up seeing us and he was super excited to be saying hi to me it was so sweet :( like i am actually even more in love with him now after experiencing that i even dreamed about him that night lmao and oh god I cant even describe how cute his eyesmile + dimple combo is irl 😔😔😔 he talked a lot too and he literally speaks in POUT whenever he said something most of the time it sounded like he was whining it was so cute jdjdjfjd but when he's performing he's a BEAST his stage presence is un-fucking-paralleled he definitely has the strongest one in the group. his mere being there just commands you to pay attention to him in awe it's just very inexplicable. he's just super cute and nice and an angel

changkyun: oh god I didn't wanna write about my experience with him during the hi touch jsjsjdjs but im gonna try to keep this as neutral as possible. so after i got to jooheon he was the last in line (which was my ideal situation, my two biases - ki and him - in opposite ends so even if i did freeze when i saw one id have time to get over it before the other one) and when i got to him he didn't look at my face, he was looking at the beginning of the line (???) for some reason, so even though i grabbed his hand and said hi i dont remember if he even said it back and i didn't get to look him in the eyes like all the others, which made me really angry as soon as i walked out and then really upset bc i spent 110 reais to see them and one of my two faves didn't look at me when i was right in front of him, but u know it is what it is. i dont think he did it on purpose or that he's an asshole or anything like that, it's just something that happened and upset me. but aside from that, the thing that stuck with me the most out of the entire concert: HE IS INCREDIBLY!!! SEXIER IN REAL LIFE like all my friends who saw mx say hyungwon is the most different but for me it was kyun. he's SO MUCH MORE HANDSOME than in the internet, pictures really do not do him justice. and he has this really hot careless, cool guy attitude in general, like when they/we were hyping him up bc of mohae he was like 🤙🏼 he stared at the floor a lot while the others were talking and like. he knows he's hot thats VERY clear lmao. he's surprisingly talkative. he's very effortless with his moves when he's dancing and that's not saying he doesn't put in effort he just makes it seem so. easy and nicely flowing idk. he was wearing a cap during the hi touch and holy fucking hell he has the nicest profile ive ever seen. thats all

sidenote: PLEASE be careful when camping days before a concert or even hours. a LOT of the people who had spent too much time in line to be closer to the stage had to leave the concert halfway through bc they were literally about to pass out after having spent so much time with poor sleep and unhealthy eating/drinking. enjoy your concert but also take care of yourselves!!

#monsta x #shownu #wonho #minhyuk #kihyun #hyungwon #jooheon #changkyun #mari.txt #mx in são paulo

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penguinsnoot · 5 years

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Self-Care Tips from Someone Who Sucks at Self-Care (Part 1)

Part 2

I’m lazy, anxious, forgetful, and generally unmotivated. Basically, I’m the worst person to be making a post on self-care, because I can barely take care of myself. However, I have made it my 2019 goal to start taking better care of myself, even if it’s just relaxing a bit on days when school is bogging me down or following a semi-regular skincare routine. Another goal, which I technically didn’t make until a few days ago, is to journal every other day. My journal tonight happens to be a list of self-care/relaxation ideas, and I thought, “Hey, I know I’m not the only one who struggles with this whole ‘taking care of myself like a proper damn adult’ thing, so why not post a ‘suggestion guide’ of sorts for other clueless individuals?” So, here you go!

Skincare Routine | Keeping a regular skincare routine is the most important step in clearing acne. Of course, there are other issues outside of acne, and keeping a routine will most likely help with those problems as well, but it’s up to you to figure out what your skin needs and how you should approach caring for it. A skincare routine can be simple or complex, and if you ever feel like you need aid in figuring out what you should do, seeing a dermatologist could prove to be very helpful. My personal skincare routine is somewhat lengthy, since I follow the Korean Skincare Routine (Oil cleanser, Water/Foam cleanser, Exfoliate, Toner, Essence, Serum, Face Mask, Eye Cream, Moisturizer) [full routine varies on day and skin needs], but has proven to be effective in my journey toward somewhat balanced and acne-free skin. I have come to accept that my skin will never be perfect, and that’s okay, because everyone has some kind of skin “problem” that may never permanently go away.

Moisturize | Not only should you moisturize your face, but you should also moisturize your body, especially in the winter to battle dry and/or irritated skin. If you have sensitive skin, it would be best to avoid a lotion with added fragrance, but if you are someone who can use all the fancy smelly lotions, get something with one of your favorite scents so that whenever you get a whiff of your skin, you can go, “Mm, delicious flesh smell!” Seriously though, moisturizing your body, whether you shave or not, is good for your skin and you should probably do it. Once you get in the habit of doing it, it doesn’t take long at all.

Brush and Floss Teeth | This one should be obvious, but you’d be surprised at just how many people don’t floss along with their brushing. As someone who totally flosses every single day, I can say that it really is good for your teeth. Flossing helps prevent tartar and plaque buildup, gum disease, and bad breath. It’s a given that we should brush our teeth at least twice a day (I hope that’s a given. . .), but far too many of us shirk over our flossing duties. It can be a pain, but it truly is an important step in oral care, so just do it!

Exercise Regularly | Ugh, physical activity. The bane of every non-health related blog owner’s existence. Yes, exercise can be a pain, especially if you are someone who is unmotivated, lazy, deals with depression, etc., but exercise helps lower your risk for certain diseases, including type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, strengthens your heart, and releases endorphins, which are feel-good hormones that lower pain perception and give you positive vibes. It’s suggested to have at least three workouts per week, but if doing something rigorous and time-consuming is daunting to you, just start off small by doing a few simple exercises, such as jogging in place, squatting and planking, in your bedroom every day until you get to a point where you feel you can step up your game, so to speak.

Eat Healthily | Believe me when I say that I love junk food just as much as the next person, but eating it on a regular basis makes me feel like absolute crap. Now, disclaimer: This is not me trying to shove some kind of moral/food agenda down your throat, but I will say that ever since going vegan last February, I have noticed that I feel a lot more comfortable after eating than I ever did when eating meat or being on a vegetarian “diet” for four years. The way we eat significantly impacts our mood. For example, people who eat mostly healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables typically feel less sad and aggressive on a daily basis in comparison to people who mostly eat junk foods such as burgers and sugary candy. The way we eat also affects our weight, digestion, and overall nourishment. I’m not saying to completely give up junk food, as it’s unrealistic in our day and age to expect everyone to do that (hell, I’ll admit it: I’m guilty of eating pints of coconut ice-cream and bags of potato chips all on my own), but cutting back on junk food, even just a little, will definitely improve your mood and general health. Just give it a try, okay? Don’t go crazy with counting calories, carbs and whatever else though, or else you might get obsessive with weight goals and barely eat 500 calories a day (again, guilty).

Drink Plenty of Water | I can proudly say that I drink more than enough water every day, but not so much that I’m over-drinking water, which can be just as bad as not drinking enough. It is recommended that you drink eight 8 oz. glasses of water a day in order to stay properly hydrated. Whereas I was a bit lenient with doing things “perfectly” on a couple other things on this list, I’m going to tell you right now that you need to do this. Drinking water helps your body perform basic functions, such as create saliva, aid in digestion, flush out toxins, etc. If you do nothing else on this list regularly, or even at all (please brush your teeth), at the very least drink plenty of water. Trust me when I say that you’ll regret not staying hydrated when you nearly pass out and have a migraine for the rest of the day, or possibly actually pass out and end up in the hospital hooked up to an IV giving you fluids.

Sleep | Plain and simple, get some sleep. I know first hand that it’s not that easy for some people. Getting only three to four hours of sleep each night, if even that, is torture. However, staying up watching Netflix or playing games on your phone at eleven o’clock at night is not helping anything. The light emitted from screens can delay the brain’s release of melatonin, which is the hormone that lets your body know it’s time for sleep. Also, staying up late doing work or making plans or whatever the hell you’re doing at one in the morning is obviously going to throw your sleep schedule off-balance. You might hate doing it, but laying down at a set time every night and setting an alarm in the morning with enough time in between to get 7-10 hours of sleep can really help you have plenty of energy to get through the day, because you’ve given your body time to rest and prepare itself for the next time you’re up and moving around. Getting enough sleep helps prevent extreme weight fluctuations, reduce stress, lower risk for serious health problems (ex. heart disease), improve immune system functions, etc. It’s important, so if you’re having serious trouble sleeping, talk with a professional and see what kind of medicine or routine you can start on to hopefully get an adequate amount of sleep each night.

Now get off your phone and go to bed. It’s late.

#self-care #self care #self-care tips #self care tips #Lazy #anxious #skincare #moisturize #brush teeth #floss #exercise #eat healthy #drink water #self care ideas #self-care ideas #sleep #seriously go to sleep #I lied #I don’t floss regularly

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ethereal-pluto-blog · 6 years

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I feel like shit today

I'm lethargic, slow, crying, and insecure. So yep ~depression~ has come to rear its ugly head once again.

But since I'm not into the whole anti-recovery thing, I'll give you some useful tips on how to maybe help YOUR depression that doesn't seem like a generic twitter self help thread. (Though I'll mention some things I found helpful and give explainations as to why.)

Talk to your therapist/counselor/mental health expert if available. Not everyone has the luxury of seeking professional help, but if you have the opportunity, PLEASE go to a professional. However be noted that it's often an experience to go through many different experts to find the one that matches your specific needs/ you like the most. Also keep in mind there are also online therapists ready to help if you're not big on one-on-one contact like myself, though often insurance is tricky. I put this one first because it might be the most beneficial for some, though not readily available for others.

If you have the strength, shower. Showering/cleaning yourself is a blessing in itself as it gives you a sense of detox. Though if you don’t have the strength or motivation, try some of this instead-

Utilize facewash and lotion. Particularly facewash that makes your face feel all chill and tingly, it makes you feel more refreshed. Lotions and cream will help you keep skin smooth.

Simply get wet with water, a quick 5 minute rinse in hot water is less of a chore than a full shower.

Dry shampoo will help with hair oiliness. Though if you don't have access just brush your hair and pull it/part it so it's out of your face.

Baby wipes. Baby wipes will cure yo soul. But seriously use baby wipes and rub them on your face, underarms, and genitals. A good rub down will help prevent you from feeling gross.

Splashing your face with cold water, it makes your pores tighten up and as a bonus it'll wake you up.

Utilize deodorant and vaseline. I haven't tried it out for myself, though if you put down deodorant and then vaseline on top it should trap the nice fragrant smell. And while you're at it you can put on cologne / perfume if you think you're getting a lil ripe, but if you want to smell like a fresh shower use ones that are labeled "shower fresh" or "baby powder."

If your lips are chapped, put on some balm shisters. (I don't trust the brand chapstick, I'm a conspiracy theorist okay I'm soRRy)

Change into some cleaner clothes. They don't have to be normal everyday clothes but at least change into new clothes, especially underwear.

Clean your fingernails/toenails. Clean under them, since random junk can get stuck up in there. Also clip them if they're too long for your liking.

Brush your teeth. But if you can't, use mints, gum, mouthwash, mouthspray, etc, or a combination of those. Anything minty will make your mouth tingle and feel fresh and clean.

Clean yo ears! Since probably nobody uses an ear vacuum (like you're supposedly supposed to idk I'm too broke for that shit anyways) just be careful using Q-tips.

If you don’t have any deodorant, try hand sanitizer! I'm not kidding. Put a dollop under each underarm, and let dry. Smells are caused by bacteria, so if you get hand sanitizer, it should greatly reduce smell.

Try to get some sun. Using the natural sunlight will help you absorb vitamin D. So open up the blinds and photosynthesize binches. Though it also helps to open up the window if you can, a breeze/fresh air blowing in with the smell of outside might even raise your mood. Though if it's currently shitty weather outside, try turning on your lights to match your circadian rhythm, so keep lights on during the day and dim it at night so it'll help with letting you be on a decent sleep schedule.

Feeling like there's no hope or that your future is going to be shit? Highkey me too, but here's what I do to combat that feeling.

It's corny, but I write a whole idealized future for myself. I write about my dream job, I write about my dream s/o, I even imagine the type of house I want to live in, the kids I'll have, what kind of pets I want to own. Etc. Although the economy is shit and no future is guaranteed, it's nice to put some positivity into light and show what I really want in life. I don't want to be some millionaire, I just want to be comfortably well off with a family and people that love me. And in all honesty a future like that isn't hard to obtain.

Even if you can't imagine a good future for yourself, imagine being a part of your friends or loved one's futures. For example, you know your friend who's dating this really cute person that you totally ship them with? Imagine being a part of the bridesmaids/groomsmen for their wedding when they tie the knot! Imagine your really smart friend finally graduating from college and you're at their graduation party giving them a speech! For me this really helps since I aspire to be drinking buddies with my best friend's future husband. (I'm rlly goofy ik lmao)

Feeling stressed about not doing anything? We've all been there. Try:

Doing work if you're due for assignments, though don't do it alone, if you can, arrange a group text/tutoring session/Skype call. If everyone is focused on getting something done then you'll be motivated to do it with them.

Though if you don’t absolutely have to do anything but want to do ~s o m e t h i n g~ I also got your back on this too.

Organize your inbox for your email. (Ik I'm lame)

Tidy/clean your room/any room if that gives you something to do.

Make your bed.

Cuddle someone/something.

Rearranging your stuff in your room, makes it feel like a whole remodel tbh.

Burn candles/incense. Don't ask just...trust me on this it can change the aura.

If you're religious, practice!

Take aesthetic photos of things in your room. Download VSCO and experiment with it. I also recommend Huji Cam and Afterlight. All are available for IOS and Android.

If you appreciate music- use YouTube and find some Playlists, or if you can, spotify premium will save yo mortal soul.

Like video games? Play some! Or if you're a brokeass like me, let's plays and walk throughs work well too.

If you got pets, pet them. Do it. Snuggle. Or if you love animals in general go and watch some vids on YouTube.

Build a fort.

If you're an artist or appreciate art- draw! Or you can watch animatics, animation memes, art channels, or follow artists on here or on Instagram and Twitter if you want to be inspired, or just observe.

Have a certain series you keep putting off? Watch! It! Netflix/Hulu that shit. Or cable TV works too.

Go on Wikipedia and just go on an adventure. Click from link to link and see where it takes you. Learn some weird new facts!

Read a new book.

Read the news/watch the news.

Write about a certain topic that you're absolutely fascinated about.

Watch movies!

Join a club/interest group. You can do this online too and it'll help meet people with similar interests as you. You can make new friends this way.

Give your friends a call/text. Having conversations will keep you occupied.

Self love aka masturbate. Or have (safe) sex with someone you trust!

Workout

Do some makeup/skincare routine. Even if you think you look bad just commit to practicing.

Sometimes it's just funny to go through and read some Reddit threads so be safe when surfing on there.

Stretch and move around! Dance if you wanna!

Do your hair/experiment in some new styles, maybe even dye it if you feel daring.

Have an icon you stan? Stan HARDER.

Watch iconic vine/rare vine compilations until you can memorize them.

Clean out your phone contacts of people that are irrelevant/toxic!! Out of sight out of mind! Don't hang on to them if they did you wrong. All the text conversations will just make you feel worse!

Actually cook your favorite food, cooking it will make you more dedicated to eating it and give you more of an appreciation for it.

Organize your closet.

Organize anything in your room/closet. Throw away things that you don't need or are too old to use.

Start collecting things, stuffed animals, pins, snowglobes, you name it.

Pinterest is addictive lowkey so try that if you're into that kind of stuff.

Write! Write a new story, write poetry, write about your feelings, write a letter, write fanfiction, express yourself.

Use Duolingo to try and study a new language to learn. (The owl will harass tf outta your email though but as long as you do like 5 minutes a day he won't bother.)

That's about all I can think of but feel free to add more for activities to dedicate your time to.

If you need to, because of your self image, don't go and stand in front of mirrors. If I stand in front of a mirror too long I'll end up scrutinizing myself and find a flaw after flaw. If you are specifically insecure about something with your body, look up models who have the same thing! Like if you're insecure about having vitiligo, look up Winnie Harlow! She's gorgeous! If you're insecure about being chubby, look up plus sized models! If you have a tooth gap, there's plenty of people like you! You don't have to feel ugly because of that when you have these awesome models rocking what they got.

Vent. You can vent to your friends, family, or even online. There are apps that allow you to vent anonymously to others without the fear of judgement. But if you can't do that, take a pen/pencil and write something down in your notebook. Though don't reread it to keep drowning in the negativity, once you write it, shut it. You can do the same on Google Docs online, once you write down everything, delete it. Don't keep trying to fuel your negative thoughts and bitterness, get your rant over with and be done. It's like a fresh start. (Plus on my Instagram spam account I always feel really silly looking at my old rant posts, so I usually delete stuff afterwards when I'm not feeling so in my feelings).

Don't expect recovery to be in a straight line. You'll have amazing days and also have extremely shitty days. Recovery isn't hoping to never experience shitty days, recovery is being able to feel the strength on those shitty days and know that they'll pass, and with each storm you'll be stronger than before. Don't push yourself to be flawless, because shit happens. But you'll make it through. And that's what matters.

And last but not least, seek emergency help if you feel like you're dangerously close to ending your life due to pain. Call the suicide hotline for support, because the pain can ease soon if you ask for the help that you need and deserve.

Not everyone that reads this is going to be like "wow this really helped me cope with my depression/mental illness!" But my goal was to at least try. It may not work for everyone unfortunately, but I hope that anyone dealing with a mental illness is on the road to recovering. Because I know how it feels. It feels sucky as fuck. But if this helps even just one person, then that's enough. I hope everyone has at least a decent day, and I hope that everyone's pain eases soon.

#depression #mental health #mental disorder #positive mental attitude #mentally ill #trigger warning #tw #anxitey #strategies & tips #tips #self love #self care #personal growth and development #road to recovery #recovery #remission #illness #i love you

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morrisondauthor · 7 years

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“Rules of the Game” – Part 2

I couldn’t lose focus of my principles. That was something I kept in mind as I headed to Kenton’s hotel to pick him up. How we met was still unbelievable to me; especially since I met him on my one-year anniversary of becoming celibate. From what I could tell on our first so-called date, he was a good guy. He could hold a meaningful conversation and he seemed interested in me beyond sex. As excited as I was, I couldn’t let down my guard. I had to remember the rules.

“The beach?” he asked me as I parked my car. “This is where you wanted to bring me, first?”

“We’re both already dressed for it,” I told him. “Besides, everyone knows Miami has the best beaches.”

“What, are we gonna rent some bloody surfboards or something?” He laughed as he climbed out of the car with me.

“No, but I do want to get in the water. You do know how to swim, right?”

“Yeah, I can swim.”

I took my shirt off and tossed onto my seat before saying to him, “Then let’s go get wet.”

He smiled as he chased me onto the beach and out into the beautiful water. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking at his sexy shirtless body as we played together in the water. He was easily the sexiest guy out there that day. His smile and that damn accent had me hornier than ever. And after a year of celibacy, I was definitely getting horny at the sight of this beautiful man. However, I was in control of my horniness. I controlled my hormones and urges.

“So, when you say you’re celibate,” he said to me as we exited the water, “does that mean you don’t even masturbate?”

I giggled and with a fake accent replied, “No, I’m not a bloody wanker!”

Me (Julian Baxter)

He burst out laughing and put his arm around my waist as we walked alongside the water. He then asked me, “How do you do it? I can’t go two days without at least a little morning masturbation.”

“I just focus on other things. I put all of my energy into other things. I meditate. I read. I laugh. I do think about sex and I look forward to having sex again, but it’s just not everything to me. Going a year without it has shown me that it’s not everything.”

“You’re brave.”

I giggled and told him, “Stop. I’m not brave for being celibate.”

“Yes, you are. It takes a lot of dedication to do something like that for as long as you have. You have me ready to give it a try.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes. Especially if it means I get to keep seeing you.”

“Ken, we’re just talking and hanging out. You have a life back in London.”

“I have family and friends back in London. I can have a life anywhere I choose.”

“Well, all I know is…”

“Hey, excuse me,” called out this woman as her and a guy she was with approached us. “Hi, can you guys watch me and my fiancé’s stuff while we go swim? You seem like decent guys and you’re obviously together. We’d really appreciate it.”

“Sure,” Kenton told her. “We’ll sit here and watch your stuff for you.”

“Thanks, guys,” the guy said as he shook Kenton’s hand and then mine.

After watching the man and woman go out into the water, I looked at Kenton and informed him, “Don’t make it a habit to help out Americans. People in this country have no shame about taking advantage of people who help them.”

“I didn’t do it just to help them out,” he explained with a smile. “I want to sit on the beach with you and now we have beach chairs to sit on.” He sat down on one of the beach chairs and I sat beside him.

Kenton Clarke

“So, what’s life like in London?”

“It’s not much different than here. It’s a lot rainier there than here. But I love rainy nights back home.”

“Wow, I love rainy nights, too.”

“Hmm, I wonder what else we have in common. What’s your favorite TV show?”

“Game of Thrones.”

His eyes lit up as he said, “Get outta here, bruv. Are you serious?”

“Yes. I’ve seen every single episode and I’m a member of a few online forums.”

“I’m in some of the forums, too. This is wild.”

“What kind of music do you like the most?”

“Soul and neo-soul. I like artists like Maxwell, India.Arie, Floetry, Musiq Soulchild, Corinne Bailey Rae, and I love everything that Jill Scott has ever made.”

“Okay, this is starting to get weird. My iPhone is full of soul and neo-soul music. Wow. The only thing that would make this weirder is if you were a loyal Janet Jackson stan like me.”

His eyes lit up as he told me, “I worship Janet. I keep a pic of her from the All for You era in my wallet for good luck.”

“I have a poster size version of her ‘Someone to Call My Lover’ cover photo on my wall!”

“That’s the pic I have in my wallet! That’s one of my favorite songs by her.”

“Mine, too.”

“This is incredible. I literally have no friends who are Janet fans.”

“Me either. Wow, Ken. We’re more compatible than I thought.”

He stared into my eyes and agreed, “Yeah, we are.”

We sat out there on the beach and talked until the couple came out of the water and thanked us for watching their stuff. Kenton and I continued to get to know each other as we resumed our walk along the beach. After a short while, we headed back to my car and I drove him to one of my favorite places to eat. It was this food truck that sold the best tacos, burritos, quesadillas and enchiladas in Miami. We got some food and then sat down at one of the few tables that were available.

“This is hands down the best taco I’ve ever eaten,” he told me with his mouth full of food.

“I told you,” I said back with a smile. “Me and my friends come here all the time.”

He finished chewing and took a sip from his beer before asking me, “Are you going to introduce me to your friends?”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. They’re not exactly as easygoing as I am. Some of them are picky and others are brutally honest.”

“Their behavior hasn’t fallen on you obviously. You’re like the nicest person I’ve ran into since coming here.”

“I have my moments.”

“I bet you’re so sexy when you’re mad.” He quickly stopped himself from going further and told me, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say it like that.”

“Ken, it’s okay for you to give me compliments. I think you’re sexy, too.”

“You do?”

“Yes, I do.”

“I just don’t wanna disrespect you. I’ve never really spent time around someone who is celibate.”

I stared into his eyes as I admitted, “I haven’t been this tempted to end my celibacy before. But I have rules and I’m going to stick by them.”

“What are those rules?”

“They alternate in level of importance depending on my mood, but the main one is that I will not have sex if an attempt at a serious relationship is not guaranteed. I refuse to be with someone who will not respect my mind, my body and my choices. Absolutely no downlow men, and no one with a crazy stalker ex or a complicated situation that could lead to me getting into some drama. And my potential partner must have goals that he wants to reach in his life. That’s one of the most important rules to me. Do you wanna know why?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Well, because I have my very own goals that I want to reach and if the right guy for me comes into my life at the right moment, then we can help each other reach those goals.”

He smiled as he looked down at the table for a quick second. He then looked back into my eyes and told me, “Those are decent rules. The rules are meant to be broken saying doesn’t apply to your rules, Julian. I wouldn’t want you to break any of those.”

After we finished eating, I took him around to a few more of my favorite spots before bringing him back to my place. No, I wasn’t going to have sex with him but I did want to have a more intimate conversation with him without any distractions. When we got to my little townhouse, I led him inside. I needed to get a little buzz going for myself so I fixed us some drinks. I put on my favorite Janet Jackson playlist and turned the speakers up a little before sitting down beside him on my living room sofa.

“I’ve never had a Tequila Sunrise that tastes this good before,” he told me after taking a sip from his drink.

“That’s because it’s not a Tequila Sunrise,” I told him with a laugh. “It’s a Rum Sunset.”

“I better go easy on this. It doesn’t take much rum to have me jumping off the bloody walls.” He took another sip before sitting his glass down and asking me, “How did you learn to perfectly mix drinks? I can’t make a tasty mixed drink even if my life depended on it.”

“It’s all about balance.” I sat my glass down and asked him, “Do you prefer to be with men more or women?”

“Men, definitely. I have been with only two or three women who knew what they were doing in bed. Every man I’ve been with has either met or gone beyond my expectations. I usually like to go off of body language and most women rarely know what their bodies want.”

“Hmm, interesting. Was your first sexual experience with a man or a woman?”

“Woman. Well, a young woman. We were fourteen and she got me riled up after my soccer practice. That actually came close to messing up my opportunities.”

“How so?”

“She wasn’t on any contraceptives and I didn’t put on a condom. She got pregnant and had to get an abortion.”

“Whoa. I bet you were afraid, huh?”

“I was scared silly.” He chuckled before telling me, “I learned from that mistake though. I’ve been wearing a condom every time I have sex ever since then. What about you? Were you always open with your sexuality or did you have to fool around with some girls?”

“I’ve been out for a good while now and no, I’ve never done anything with a woman except share skincare tips and paint her toenails.”

“I bet you held on to your virginity longer than I did.”

“You said you were fourteen, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I was seventeen when I lost mine. My first time was with a basketball player at my high school. His name was Isaiah Hudson and I still hate him to this day.”

“Why?”

“Because we would talk and hang out all the time before I gave him my virginity. Right after the sex, he started ignoring me. He did hit me up one more time but it was for more sex and when I told him no, he cussed me out. Ken, I felt so used. I hate that feeling.”

“I’m sorry that happened to you. No one deserves that kinda treatment.” He moved closer to me and gently rubbed my back. “I wouldn’t do anything like that to you, bruv. I admit, I do my share of hooking up but when I meet someone I really like, I do like doing the boyfriend thing.”

I giggled and asked, “Boyfriend thing?”

“You know, going out on dates and spending time with each other. Wearing matching clothes.”

“Matching clothes? You’ve done that before?”

“Yeah. Julian, I’ve been someone’s boyfriend before. I know what to do in a relationship. Hell, all of my relationships have ended on good terms and the breakups were over scheduling conflicts or me not having enough time. I am dedicated to finding someone special and devoting my time to him.”

“Don’t you mean him or her?”

He moved even closer to me and said, “No, I mean him.”

Before I could even take in a single breath, his lips were on mine. Surprising myself, I reacted by kissing him back. The kiss only lasted a few seconds but it was enough to make butterflies flutter in my stomach. He smiled the cutest smile and just stared into my eyes for the longest without saying anything. I smiled and finally broke the silence by asking, “Why did you kiss me?”

“Because I really like you. Why did you kiss me back?”

“I don’t know. I guess because…I really like you, too.”

“What are we gonna do about that? I’m going to be here for a few more days. I have an important decision to make and now it’s more complicated because I have a good feeling about you.”

“I’ve had a good feeling about you since we met yesterday. This is definitely a unique situation.”

He reached back to the table and picked up his drink. He took some sips from it and then asked me, “What are your plans for tomorrow?”

“I’m not sure yet. Why?”

“Because I want to spend as much time as I can with you, Julian.”

“Even though you know we’re most likely not going to have sex?”

“I don’t care about that. I don’t need to have sex with you to know that I wanna spend more time with you.”

“But aren’t you worried that we’re moving way too fast?”

“There’s no such thing as moving too fast when it comes to stuff like this. If I know what I want and you know what you want, what’s the problem with acknowledging it and doing something about it? I know you’ve been with some shitty blokes but that’s not who I am. And I’m going to prove it to you. I’ll spend my last few days in America—for the time being—proving that to you.”

“And what happens if you decide you don’t want to play for the Miami soccer team? You’re just going to go back to London and pretend as if you never met me?”

“I’m a man of my word, Julian. I’m dedicated to seeing where this goes with you.”

“I am, too. Okay, I’m in. We have a few days to see where this could go. If by the time you’re ready to leave and we’re both not convinced this is worth it, then we can walk away from it without any hard feelings.” I extended my hand to him and asked, “Deal?”

He shook my hand and replied, “Deal.”

After drinking and talking and listening to Janet Jackson music for nearly two hours, he got an Uber to come pick him up and take him back to his hotel. I wasn’t sure how the next few days were going to go, but I did notice how much I was opening up to him. I felt like I could trust him. While in bed later that night, I texted back and forth with him. All I could do was hope that I was doing the right thing and that he wasn’t playing me.

[Disclaimer]: Pictures used do not reflect the sexuality or personality of people in the pictures. They only serve as visual examples of the characters.

#D.A. Morrison #short story #Morrison'sSummerSeries #love #romance #dating #British Black #Black European #athlete #black lgbt #lgbt fiction #fiction

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electricmoi · 6 years

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So, I was asked why I have yummy skin... The secrets of my trade revealed...

I got complimented by my BFF that I have glass skin on this photo. I got it from my momma. Of course, Genetics plays a huge part. I won't dig deep anymore, but of course, there are ways to actually battle this out. Water Therapy I'm a hypocrite for posting this because honestly, there are times when I don't get to drink a lot of water as I should. Our house is divided into two, and I have to cross to the other house (under the heat of the sunlight or in the middle of the scary night) to get to our kitchen, but once I do, I consume 1-2 liters of water in one sitting. I don't put highlighter on my face anymore, but it seems like I do. Water is the culprit. Get more zzz This need not be explained. When I don't get enough sleep, my skin actually dries out a lot. Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream My skin started improving in 2010 when I started using this BB Cream. In South Korea, BB creams are considered skincare, not makeup, so there is really sort of healing properties in this product. It’s also very long-lasting compared to other BB creams. I highly recommend it.

As much as I’d like to promote local products, I wanna be fair to our skin. This bb cream should be a beauty staple for everyone. Oops, I'm almost running out of it; time to buy a new one. Sunscreen and less sun exposure I don't go out of the house often. This is not a tip okay? Always being indoors and not being exposed to the world and nature can actually cause some sickness, like flu. However, as expected with people in the tropics, I don't go out under the heat of the sun very often. It's also one of the reasons why my skin significantly improved after graduating from college. However, an exception is going out at 6-8 am as it can get you some Vitamin D. Whenever I have to cross our house under the heat of the sun to get some lunch or answer deliverymen, I make it a point to put some sunscreen even when I'm indoors most of the time. What I currently use is this Israeli product my mom's friend gave me. I use fewer products We're giving our skin a favor if we put fewer products on it. The natural, the better (although there might be some exceptions). I tried doing the 10-step Korean skincare routine in 2013 for a month (it was tiring!), but it didn't really make a difference on my skin. Some of you might think that I use a lot of products already, but on a "kikay" level, this is actually just level 1. No stress I've been talking about some adversities and about handling and overcoming depression on this blog, but being depressed and stressed out are entirely two different things. There was a time when I became so tense (still different from stress), but it manifested differently. It even made my skin better because I was releasing toxins. I don't overwork. I still have my business, but due to my trauma about it, I rarely hustle. Yes, I have to, but I make sure that I don't overdo it. I take breaks every 25 minutes and find time to relax or go social. I don't overthink about my skin I'm not saying that I don't care about my skin, but according to the New Age Philosophy, being attached to a thing makes it repel from you even more. If you're too obsessed about skincare, what manifests is more obsession, and that won't make you get rid of your skin problems. I have experienced this last year--due to my back acne, but thankfully, I got rid of it already (I'll tell you how in another post). I know it's tough to relax when you have acne or whatever skin problem, but try to relax and don't overthink it. Obsessing and overthinking about it will only make it worse. I watch K-Pop and K-Drama girls a lot. Alright, this may seem weird, but I actually believe that being exposed to girls with great skin can influence your state of mind. Again, I don't necessarily use the products they use but just focusing on these girls can really help you, in connection to the law of attraction. You attract what you focus on. Yeah, I know many people focus on them too but don't seem to improve on the facial department. Combine this tip with some of my suggestions above. I believe they'll really help. Believe me, okay? Skincare products I use and my routine:

Another beauty staple that has many uses. Google its other benefits. 1. If I'm just home, upon waking up, I wash my face with a gentle soap (I use cucumber soap or this beauty soap my niece from Australia sent out; it's a basic soap, not one of those that can cure skin problems or whitening thing) 2. If I just got home from going out, I use the Biore cleansing oil my BFF gifted me to remove makeup. You can actually also use natural cleansing oils for makeup removal. I just won this Hairfood Co. Tsubaki oil, and I plan to use it as a makeup remover when the Biore runs out. After that, I use a gentle soap again (just a very minimal amount). 3. I use the Human♥Nature Hydrating face toner after cleansing, but to be honest, I skip it sometimes. 4. After toning, I use the Nivea creme on my face. Very basic, but this cream really works. 5. After that, I put castor oil on my eyebrows (I skip it sometimes LOL) 6. For my lips, I don't forget to put petroleum jelly before going to bed. My lips seem to be immune to it.

Make-up products I currently use:

I’m promoting this brand because it’s local, organic, cruelty-free, and long-lasting, at the same time! Kudos to its makers (hailing from Nabunturan) Before putting BB cream, I use aloe vera soothing gel. After that, I go ahead with the Missha BB Cream. It's really long-lasting, but if I'm going to be out for more than 8 hours, I also use Ever Bilena foundation on top of it (it's really cheap but effective for me). I also use Ever Bilena eyebrow liner. Then I use the Kiss and Tell lip and cheek tint for my blush. Before putting on lipstick, I use lip balm first. I currently have EOS lemon lip balm because of its SPF content, but when it runs out, I plan on buying something from Healthy Options, with extra SPF. My lipsticks vary. I have Maybelline, Loreal, Rimmel, etc., most of which were only gifted to me. That's it. Feel free to comment if you have any other product alternatives (especially local ones) or anything you would like to ask or add.

#lifestyle #beauty

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sundayskin · 4 years

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The Basic Steps of Skincare (What to Use & When) ✨👏🏻

Hello skincare friends!! It’s been some time since I last made an actually informative (useful?) post. I’ve been really busy with, well, life, as most of you are too! And so many new people have joined our chill & fun skincare community—welcome newcomers! This post is going to be a longer one because there’s a lot to talk about. If you want a condensed version—there’s no condensed version, lol. So grab your coffee or your tea and some snacks and get comfy! FYI, instead of going by product type like cleanser, toner, cream, etc., like most step-by-step guides do, I’m going to go more by skin needs. Okay, you ready? Let’s go!

So, in my opinion, the two most basic steps of a skincare routine that everyone should start with are cleansing & moisturizing (+ SPF). That being the case, the sections below are going to be broken down into the basic “musts” when it comes to skincare and then the “extra” skincare steps that are optional, and for those wanting advice, I’ll put my personal tips below each step:

⭐ STEP 1: CLEANSE. The cleansing step is pretty straightforward. You can use a cleanser (or two) and, if you want, a toner, which is often the second and last step in the typical (Korean/Asian) cleansing routine. Toners are put onto a cotton pad and used to wipe your face.

🗸 Tip! “Double cleansing” is typically recommend if you need an extra, deeper cleanse. This is often the case if you (1) wear makeup, (2) wear heavier SPF, or (3) your skin gets very dirty/congested by the end of the day. Double cleansing can be using an oil cleanser + a water based cleanser, makeup wipes + a water based cleanser, a cleansing water + a water based cleanser, and so on—basically it’s cleansing twice people. The method you use is totally up to you, like everything in your routine is!

🗸 Tip! Opt for lighter cleansing in the morning and deeper cleansing at night. In the morning, your skin shouldn’t need a deep cleanse & you don’t want to strip your skin of its nutrients by over-cleansing. I only rinse my face with water and use a cleansing water/toner in the morning and it’s helped my skin so much!

🗸 Tip! Remember, cleansing doesn’t literally have to be limited to a “cleanser;” try using cleansing waters or an oil or a powdered cleanser etc. There are so many cleansing options out there so find one that works for you. Don’t feel pressured to get one of those tube shaped bottles with “cleanser” written in the title, lol.

🗸 Tip! Keep your face semi-wet after cleansing because it helps your skin retain moisture. Pat dry instead of rubbing. Have a designated face towel or use something less bacteria-harboring like tissues, a facial sponge, or just your hands! Likewise, don’t wait a long time after cleansing to follow up with your moisturizer/other products.

⭐ STEP 2: MOISTURIZE. Aka the “giving back” part of your routine. There are seriously so many ways to moisturize and whatever skin type you have it’s a must in some form or another. If we’re talking about the most basic routine for beginners or those wanting a simple routine, this step entails simply using one or more moisturizers for, you guessed it, moisture.

🗸 Tip! You can use just about any product meant to go on after cleansing as a moisturizer—essences (some “toners” are really essences; they just had to make skincare more confusing), serums, ampoules (why is this even a separate category from serums/essences?), oils, mists, creams, gels, you name it. Just like cleansing, as long as you’re moisturizing enough, whatever way you do it is up to you.

🗸 Tip! For oily skin types, I recommend trying a mist, essence, or gel-textured moisturizer. For drier skin types, I’d choose something heavier or layer lighter options—but it’s best to skip out on the “7 skin method”—that’s old news and it’s really, really, way too many layers. We ain’t got money to be using 7 layers a day! And likewise, go for lighter options in the warmer months and heavier options in the colder months. And, FYI, by “heavier” I mean more hydrating/moisturizing, which isn’t always literally a heavier product!

🗸 Tip! If you find your skin feeling “dehydrated,” a heavier cream isn’t always the best option. Often thicker moisturizers won’t go “deep” within the skin but they’ll just create a layer on the surface. So, if you’re feeling your skin is really thirsty, the best option is layering something thin like an essence or serum—something that will absorb into your skin—then topping it off with a moisturizer to lock in that hydration.

🗸 Tip! Your “giving back,” after-cleansing products can also double to treat your problem areas. For instance, you can use a brightening serum or a soothing cream or an acne-fighting essence, the list goes on—basically, I’m clumping everything into this broad category of “moisturizing” for simplicity’s sake, so go wild and be as basic or as complex in this step as you want. If you want to stay basic, just go for something that moisturizes, don’t worry too much about getting all the other 100 possible benefits products can give you—besides, odds are, any moisturizer you use has skin benefits beyond moisturization. Really, moisturization itself leads to other skin benefits. You don’t want to see me in my Skin Theory 101 mode—I can go on for days.

🗸 Tip! Your day-time moisturizer should have SPF or you should apply SPF at the end of your routine after moisturizing. If you want to keep your routine simple, get a moisturizer that’s going to give you sun protection too. SPF can be annoying sometimes, but it’s an absolute must, unless, you know, you want things like premature aging, wrinkles, dark spots, loss of elasticity, and so on, but no, yah, totally up to you.

🗸 Tip! Oftentimes, your oils, serums, or your essences can double as lip-care—say what?? Yep, it’s true. Just be aware of the ingredients, like strong exfoliants, that aren’t really meant for lips. But generally, what you put on your face is also safe (and beneficial) for your lips.

Read on for extra steps beyond the basic cleanser + moisturizer (+SPF) routine.

EXTRAS (Depending on your skin needs.)

Spot treatments. For those with acne or other spot-related issues.

🕒 When: Typically last, though this isn’t exclusive. For one, pimple patches should go after the cleansing step: less between the pimple patch and your skin the better it’ll work.

🗸 Tip! Drying spot treatments (like drying lotions) are great, particularly for oily skin types. If you don’t want to break the bank for that Mario Badescu drying lotion, try using a clay mask you have instead, leaving it overnight on small target areas just as you would a typical drying lotion! For dry skin types, tea tree oil is a personal favorite all-natural spot treatment of mine.

🗸 Tip! If you have a bad habit, like me, of itching, popping, and messing with your blemishes, use pimple patches to not only treat those blemishes, but to keep your hands off of them!

Targeted Treatment Products/Masks. This is again a super diverse section that overlaps others. You can use any sort of mask, leave-on treatment, or even a treatment tool, it’s up to you. You can even, you know, be like me and buy a $500 LED mask (or, better, DON’T be like me).

🕒 When: Wash-offs are usually after or before cleansing (read the package) and leave-ons (serums, ampoules, sleeping packs, sheet masks, etc.) usually depend on how thick they are (thin > thick), and, of course, their instructions. Always check the fine print people.

🗸 Tip! Clay masks are great for people with acne, pore problems, and excess sebum—shout out to my oily skin types, I see you! Sheet masks are cute and fun, but really sheets masks are like glorified single uses of an essence or serum, so I prefer using an actual essence or serum over spending $3-$5 on a single use version. Sorry sheet mask fanatics, the secret’s out. That $3 to $5 can, like, buy me a coffee at Starbucks, okay.

Exfoliation. Basically, exfoliating helps your skin shed it’s dead skin cells so that your skin cells can renew themselves. It helps all sorts of skin issues from acne to scarring to signs of aging.

🕒When: Almost always on a cleansed face before moisturizing. Use one to three times a week, depending on how sensitive your skin is and how “harsh” the product is. I tend to exfoliate once to twice a week because my skin is pretty sensitive right now and I’m using a lot of other strong ingredients/products. There are exfoliators that are said to be for everyday use, which some people swear by, but I personally don’t think I need to exfoliate daily.

🗸 Tip! Opt for chemical exfoliation (product key words: “peeling” “aha” “bha” “pha” etc.) over physical—no matter how good that apricot seed scrub feels when you use it, scrubs are almost always irritating to your skin, whether you can see it or not. Plus, they can create micro tears in your skin, especially the ones containing bigger granules—yikes! Exfoliants are sometimes in a wash-off mask form or can be left on the skin. They range from gentle to mild to so strong it feels like your skin is falling off—I don’t recommend the latter.

🗸 Tip! There are a whole bunch of ingredients and things you should avoid when exfoliating, which are typically said to be vitamin c, exposure to the sun without high SPF, retinol/retinoids, other exfoliants, etc. If you aren’t sure, feel free to ask me or, better, Google it.

P.S. You’ve probably realized this already but I should point out that these “different” steps or product types can, and often do, overlap each other. Like an exfoliant can be a treatment mask and a mask can also be a moisturizer and a cleanser can have ingredients that are exfoliating. It’s all too much, I know. Just start with the basics and gradually try more, if you want.

Overwhelmed? Are you currently like that dog just sitting in the kitchen saying “this is fine” while everything’s on fire? If you’re overwhelmed, that’s absolutely okay and normal! Start by getting products that meet the absolute basic needs of you skin—cleansing and moisturization (+ SPF). What I like to do when trying to find new products is (1) read a lot of reviews, (2) watch YouTube videos featuring the product to see it in real time, and (3) always search the ingredients on a website like CosDNA that tells you what each ingredient is. After you’ve got the basics down, I’d start with a gentle exfoliating product—no scrubs people, just don’t do it. Then, once you’re comfortable with skincare, consider if you want to incorporate other products or steps or tools depending on your skin needs. Never start using all kinds of different products at once; start simply and slowly. In any case, my ask is open, so let me know if you want any advice, but remember that I’m not an expert, I just love skincare and I’ve been doing it for a long time (just ask my very disappointed bank account if you want proof). Good luck guys and gals, catch ya later!

— sundayskin ❤️

#sorry this turned out so long lol #I'll probably update this whenever I feel like I need to #skincare #korean skincare

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elenasescape1-blog · 4 years

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Good morning ✨

So now we are pretty much in an official lockdown in the UK; the confirmed cases and death toll are increasing daily... I want to talk about where I think this virus REALLY came from, as I truly believe this was not spread like how everyone thinks.

I really do believe this virus was man made; I believe this was a big distraction from what really was going on. Current wars in other countries have been completely forgotten about! World War 3 was about to break out but suddenly we don’t hear about it anymore because the only thing spoken about in any form of media is Covid-19... not sure if this is any use to anyone but Covid-19 translated into Hebrew then back to English is “Kobe”. Which celebrity death was all over the media then got taken over by Covid-19? Kobe and Gianna Bryant’s. Now this takes me to a couple of episodes from The Simpson’s, where they have predicted many things to have come true.. 9/11, Donald Trump’s presidency... how weird is it that they predicted Kobe’s death? Even weirder, they predicted both the Coronavirus and Tom Hanks’ isolation... and that’s all I’ll say on The Simpson’s, they seem to have predicted many things to have happened in the last 20-30 years... just food for thought with that one. Lastly on predictions, I’m sure many people have seen a picture on Twitter which has even been retweeted by Kim Kardashian West; it’s a snippet of a book written many years ago, stating “in 2020 a pneumonia like virus will attack the globe, vanishing just as quickly as initial onset”. Still not think it’s somewhat man made?

Let’s also think about what’s really in those chemtrails we see in the sky; yes we see them at certain times of the day because of air pressure and weather etc, but do we really and truly know what’s in them? One more thing to think about, how convenient that all this Brexit stuff went on for nearly 4 years and then we formally left the EU January 31st 2020? Brexit now means that the Covid-19 vaccine won’t be available in the UK as quickly as other countries... weird timing, right?

I don’t believe this was necessarily spread through Chinese people from Wuhan eating bats or whatever it was. Yes the first cases came from Wuhan, but why weren’t flights from China suspended straight away? I believe this virus was planted in the food markets as a way for them to have population control over China, where let’s not forget for a while the families were restricted to one child each as their population was over 1billion. Flights were not suspended to other countries to allow the spread, which they knew would be very easy and very quick. This, in my eyes, was a way for the governments to have some form of population control and also climate control, now that everyone is staying home much more of the time, pollution levels have decreased a lot, so much so that there are fish back in the canals of Venice. I expect to see dolphins in the river Thames within the next month (🙄).

Anyway, here’s a video I thought I’d include that I came across on Facebook yesterday - it reiterates a lot of what I’ve said and it’s really interesting.

https://www.facebook.com/124411634236128/posts/3136593436351251/?vh=e&d=n

Now moving on to mental health during isolation. I used to hate constantly being at home, being left alone just me with my anxious thoughts. This is going to be a testing time for many people who also feel this way. It’s important that we do not disconnect ourselves from our circles; yes we may not be able to physically see the people we want to be around, but we are so lucky to have the technology we do where we can call, video call (with more than one person at a time now) and stay in touch via social media - had this outbreak happened 20 years ago we would have been far worse off in this sense. Most importantly, if you do feel low, REACH OUT! Talk to anyone you can! Now that everyone is at home in the same boat, many more people have more time now to put into conversations. Remember, this is not going to last forever. I just personally hope that we don’t have a pandemic of social anxiety once everything goes back to normal - people will be so used to staying indoors most of the time and in the comfort of their own homes that they may feel anxious being back out into the world, unable to re-adjust to usual life as quickly as others. But we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it...

For those that do struggle with anxious thoughts & being at home for much of the time, or even for those who just get really bored and restless easily, here are 12 things for you to do during your day to keep yourselves busy!

1. Learn to cook

- this a great new skill to take up and one that can keep you occupied for a few hours during your day! Here’s a site with some apps (most of which are free) that give you cooking recipes, advice and can even show you recipes with what you can make do with what’s in your cupboards right now! There are also some great YouTube tutorials out there!

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/best-recipe-apps/%3famp

2. Learn a new language

- How cool would it be to come out of isolation billingual?! Okay not completely billingual, but beginning to speak a new language? This is a great task to put your minds to! Here are a couple of free apps that have been rated 4 stars or more on the App Store for iPhone. If they aren’t available on Androids, these apps have websites and there are plenty of other apps for Android too!

3. Find 5 films of different genres to watch and watch one a day.

4. Find 3 series with a decent amount of episodes/seasons and spread throughout the week.

- this goes for both 3 & 4; I believe binge watching in a time like this is not ideal! Imagine completing the series or film marathon you love in a whole day and then feeling like you have nothing else to watch! Spread the episodes/films out so you have something to do each day!

5. Pamper

- whilst taking care of ourselves mentally, we can’t forget that we have to take care of our skin too! Aside from drinking plenty of water, morning/nightly skincare routines are important to keep your glow, check out YouTube for some tips if you need them! Stay consistent too! You can even make homemade face masks, which are also on YouTube. Giving yourself a mani/pedi should take up a decent amount of time - your skin feels amazingly soft after too!

6. Exercise!

- we have no excuse for not doing exercise now! For those that love a walk or a jog, we are still allowed to leave the house to do this, whether it be around the block or in the park (which will be patrolled). Finding yourself a home exercise routine is a great way to keep occupied and feel good, as we know when we get that endorphin rush after a workout! There are many routines you can find online, and if you’re already a member in a gym and have their app, I’m sure there are routines on there too. If you have kids then you can all do this together! Joe Wickes AKA the Body Coach is doing online PE lessons for kids, so now you can all keep active. I’ll link his YouTube channel below:

https://www.youtube.com/user/thebodycoach1

7. Meditate

- For those with anxiety, meditation is so important! Meditation trains the mind to keep calm with racing thoughts and to have a mind over matter overall thought process. Here are some great apps below, which I have also used (they really are amazing):

8. Draw/be creative

- drawing/painting/sculpting - all so therapeutic and calming. They really allow you to put your mind to a task for a lengthy period of time and allow yourself to explore your creative side! A great way to learn new things about yourself if you never knew you had a creative side 😝

9. Vlog/blog your day/keep a journal

- write/express your feelings! If you are feeling low this is so important - this way you can understand your emotions more logically and your form of expression allows you to release them too. For those who are simply just getting bored, this is a fun way to keep occupied throughout the day! You can blog about what you’re doing, vlog your exercise routine etc. It’s great fun!

10. Organise/clear out cupboards/draws/wardrobes

- ever seen Stacey Solomon’s “Tap to Tidy” stories on Instagram? So satisfying! You could do the same. This is a pretty lengthy task and a great way to escape anxious thoughts by putting order in place!

11. Read

- reading is a lovely form of escapism where we can go into our own world for however long we want. It gives us a story to focus on and really become engrossed in the situation and characters, whether it be fiction or non-fiction. If you don’t own books, there are audiobooks, e-books and google books all online where you can find whichever book you want to read/listen to!

12. Find one thing to learn about each day and spend some time researching and learning loads.

- interested in space? Astrology? Egyptian history? Well grab a notebook and YouTube! Find anything in the entire world that you want to learn more about and watch some YouTube videos on it. I say YouTube videos because I personally believe this is the least boring way to learn about something. Write down some notes or draw visual notes on it, whichever way you learn best!

Basically, what all these tasks have in common is that it puts your mind to something fun, that you can really focus on for a decent period of time! Don’t leave yourself anxious or bored in isolation, keep your relationships with others both physically and virtually where you can. Keep yourself to doing something, stay as busy as you can/want! Don’t forget, if you’re feeling low or any type of way, please reach out and talk to someone/anyone, do not let yourself run away with these thoughts over something temporary!

💚✨💚✨💚✨

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jennphotoblog-blog · 5 years

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Less is More and Instagram Beauty

Hello all! In this post, I wanted to cover some observations I’ve made regarding beauty photography. There are many ways to shoot a specific look, but I thought why not share my thoughts on some reoccurring trends in the field.

LESS IS MORE

We all know the cliche “Less is More”, but nothing could be more true when it comes to beauty…at least, beauty photography. I often get asked from fellow photographers who are starting out shooting beauty (however, I still consider myself starting out as well!…fun fact: I have been shooting beauty for only a little over a year now so I still have lots to learn!) if there was one tip that I could share. My biggest tip would be to think in terms of Less is More. Take your concept and simplify it as much as possible. Oftentimes people assume that in order for an image to be considered beauty, it has to include a green lip and blue eyeshadow and huge false lashes and glitter and crazy hair and blush and and and…. *breathe*. Take ONE aspect and focus on that. If you want green eyes, then just do green eyes and keep the lips and skin clean. If you want to do a bold lip, keep the eyes nude with maybe a quick swipe of mascara or some natural-looking falsies. The nice thing about shooting neutral shades is that you are able to play around with both lips AND eyes without it looking too heavy. One benefit of keeping things simple is that it helps the viewer stay focused on one area of the face. Don’t overwhelm your viewer by highlighting too many areas within the frame…it becomes too chaotic.

Some examples of too many things going on at once:

Now, if you want to go crazy and do black lips or a bright eyeshadow, you do you girl. But remember that simple can be just as powerful- if not more - as going over the top.

Here are some examples of bold looks executed in a clean and simple manner:

(image by the talented Ben Hassett)

image

(Image by Ruo Bing Li)

image

(Image by Ben Hassett)

These images obviously still pack a punch visually, but they have a very high-end, minimal feel.

Again, go crazy! Have fun with colors and paint strokes and glitter! But remember to pace yourself and keep your audience interested in one focal point.

INSTAGRAM BEAUTY VS. EDITORIAL BEAUTY

Another trend I’ve noticed is the Instagram makeup artist (often times these are talented freelance makeup artists who practice on themselves) posting images of gorgeous eyeshadows and sharp eyebrows. While this look is very popular, I wanted to bring this up because there is a stark difference between this particular look vs. what is expected of an editorial beauty photographer. I have noticed more and more photographers and makeup artists approaching these types of looks and using them for beauty editorials. While this is definitely a subjective matter, I don’t see this becoming a trend in major publications or beauty campaigns. What do I mean by this?

Example of Instagram Beauty

Clearly these are 2 completely different looks, but the execution and style is distinctly different. The modern trend of sharp eyebrows and heavy glam is not something that I predict will catch on in the editorial world. With that said, I find it best to keep the beauty looks for editorial creative and fun! Not something you would necessarily wear out and about. Editorial gives you the opportunity to play around and be messy! Don’t stick to the cookie-cutter eyebrows and thick lashes. Try starting natural and glowy and moving up to something edgy and crazy (while still keeping in mind Less is More). Keep the ultra-glam eyeshadows and lashes for the club or a night out on the town. One look that ALWAYS looks great when starting out shooting beauty is just a simple red lip and just a little mascara. No eyeliner or blush. This is a modern take on a classic look, and is flattering on pretty much any face.

“Fresh Finish”- Concept Development

This is my first post of my new BTS (behind the scenes) blog!! I hope that through this blog, myself and fellow photographers alike, will learn and grow through my experiments and..ahem..mistakes. In this blog, I will be sharing photos, lighting diagrams, concept building and random tidbits relating to shoots! Now, lets get on to the nitty gritty..

For this first post, I want to focus on the concept building of a shoot. This isn’t the most exciting part for some…but for me it is almost like a high. When a concept is developing in my head, my excitement is comparable to the feeling a child gets on Christmas Eve. I love it!

I recently shot a personal editorial that I titled “Fresh Finish”, focusing on 4 different skin finishes: matte, natural, glowy and wet. Usually when starting out with a concept, the idea develops from either an outside influence or image that inspires me. The funny thing about inspiration is that it can totally change direction once you get going with the brainstorming process. Inspiration can also come from literally anywhere, and this instance it came from photos on h&m’s home line:

See? I told you it could come from anywhere. Anyways, what intrigued me about these photos is the use of different elements to create a soft, tranquil backdrop for the bedding. I wanted to take this idea and apply it to beauty (my main focus of work), so I thought it would be neat to create a story matching skincare to a different backdrop: wet look on brushed metallic, matte on woodgrain, natural on crinkled paper and glowy on soft draped cotton.

I passed the idea by my friend and one of my primary makeup artists Jadyn Ngo, who loved the idea! Next step was to research images for makeup/hair/model/vibe to create a moodboard. Many of you will know this, but if you are like me (who moved to LA without any clue what a moodboard was lol), a moodboard (or storyboard) creates a mood and showcases different looks to show the client/team when putting together a shoot. A moodboard helps develop the story more and guides the team into creating looks more accurately based on the overall theme. I usually find that Pinterest or beauty/fashion specific sites like fashiongonerogue.com or whowhatwear.com are great places to get inspiration photos. I also like collecting clippings from magazines like Harpers Bazaar and Elle for makeup ideas.

Here is the moodboard that I put together for this particular shoot-

Usually my moodboards will be a bit jumbled and chaotic, but with this shoot I felt it was important to separate it by looks so that on the day of the shoot I wouldn’t suddenly have a brain fart and forget which look goes with which backdrop. As you can see, the images aren’t just for the makeup and hair stylist, it is also a good preview for the types of angles/poses I’d like to go for. I also like to add in brief descriptions of each look to pass along to the agencies when I’m reaching out about testing with them. Agents get TONS of emails, so I want to make sure I stand out from the rest by creating a story that is not only well thought out and unique, but also beneficial to the model and the agency. When I moved to L.A., I had the aspiration to continue shooting conceptual work that I was used to shooting in Arkansas (conceptual in this case meaning extremely outlandish and creative, oftentimes pulling from surrealism or theme specific ideas). I quickly learned through one rejection after another that not only was conceptual work not wanted in the model’s portfolio, it was actually almost impossible to book any work because no one wanted it. I had to readjust and refocus my sights on something that would allow me to get work in L.A….and here we are! Anyways, a moodboard is crucial to a successful shoot. I think I have shot maybe 3 shoots since moving here without a moodboard, and each have been a little confusing when it comes to describing looks and mood.

After creating a moodboard and sending it out to various agencies, an agency will either say yes and send me a “package” of models who are available and testing, or will politely say that they are not interested in the concept not send a package. When a rejection does happen, it is hard and painful, but don’t give up! Keep pushing on, think of reasons why the concept may be a bit too specific for the agency, and try again.

From there, a model is selected based on the look I’m going for, a date and time for the shoot is made and a callsheet is sent out with all of the info for the shoot. Here is what my callsheet looks like:

From there, I get confirmations from everyone on the team and then we are good to shoot come the shoot date!

Preparation for this particular shoot was crucial, as I had to purchase the specific materials for each look (which again were metal, wood, cotton and paper). I began at Home Depot and picked up a large piece of brushed sheet metal and a large piece of wood that had some beautiful grain. I bought the fabric at the craft store, as well as a large roll of craft paper. When I got home, I realized I wanted the fabric and paper to be a beige rather than stark white, so I tea stained the materials to the desired color. After soaking the paper in the tea, I laid it in a wrinkled pattern on a drying rack, which created some awesome texture. In the end, the metal didn’t really work out so much because the light reflected way too much in it, despite changing the location of the light. So in the images, the backdrop looks a bit flat in the wet looks, but thats okay! I am taking it as a learning experience and will keep practicing with different methods of shooting on metal. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to share!

Here is the finished product. I wanted to put the images in a layout similar to what you would see in a major magazine, so I created a titlepage and little captions for each look (thanks to Jadyn for the help!). I am super pleased with how all of this turned out, and I can’t wait to share more concept processes with you!

I hope some of this was of some use to those of you curious about what I do, or are pursuing photography yourself! Thanks for reading :)

“Fresh Finish”

Model: Emily Tender @ Nous Models

Makeup/hair: Jadyn Ngo (jadynngo.com)

Photography: Jenn Collins (jenn-collins.com)

BONUS PHOTO

Jadyn and model Emily preparing a look, while Bandit looks on adoringly. :)

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gourmetbooty · 7 years

Text

The One Where Kaneki Tries to Woo Tsukiyama and Nishiki Is Drunk

Here is my first fic! I was thinking about Tsukiyama’s birthday didn’t get any coverage in the story line, so I came up with this. For now I’ll post it here, then I’ll publish it on AO3 too when I’ll be able to open an account, which should be next week. Thank you if you read!!

Flipping through the pictures on her camera, Chie looked up at Tsukiyama, who was sitting on a couch opposite to her, reading a book

. “Next week’s your birthday. What’s it gonna be, 27, 28?”

“I’m gonna be 25. Stop making me older than I am,” Tsukiyama scoffed, glancing up at his best friend.

“Stop being so pouty. Are you gonna host a party or something?”

“No. There are too many things we need to take care of, and we can’t really afford to have a party right now, when we could die every moment.”

“Jeez, okay. Stop being so negative,” Chie rolled her eyes, going back to her photos. “But alright, whatever you want.”

---

“Chie, what’s the group chat you created for?”

“I wanted to host a surprise party for Tsukiyama’s birthday next week. He said he doesn’t want to do anything, but it could be an excuse for him to let loose a little bit. The atmosphere here is too tense, you could go shopping with the bags under your eyes.”

“I don’t know… I mean, we are in the middle of a war, are you sure holding a birthday party is okay?”

“Oh come on, as if taking a few hours off is gonna get you all killed. It’s for your dear friend Tsukiyama, after all.”

“Hm… okay,” Kaneki nodded, tapping his chin as he began thinking. “Maybe we could have a little party. The headquarters are pretty big, there’s enough room for everyone, I think. Nothing too crazy, though.”

“I promise we will not blow up anything,” Chie nodded, before scurrying back in the hallways. She pulled her phone out, opened the group chat, and started typing.

---

A week later, on March 3rd, in the evening, Tsukiyama was laying on his stomach on his bed, sheet mask on his face and kitten videos playing. Kaneki had told everyone they could take a night off and relax, and Tsukiyama had wasted no time in locking himself up in his private bathroom, take a nice, hot shower and start his skincare routine. He had been putting it off in the previous few weeks, and he couldn’t afford to do that anymore. His skin was screaming in agony.

He was going to stay on Youtube and update his new blog, then read a little and go to bed early. At least, that was what he had planned.

He heard someone knocking on his door and he sighed, pausing the video before going to open up. “Chie. I thought I had told you I wanted to relax tonight. Alone,” he raised an eyebrow.

“Kaneki ordered a special meeting and apologized, but said you guys can take the night off another time, because he has something important to say. Also, you’re spending your first Friday night as a 25-year-old alone and watching cat videos. That’s pretty depressione.”

“I wasn’t… fine, okay. Just… tell him I’ll be down in five minutes.”

“Make it twenty,” Chie interrupted him. “You need to do your make up. And you shouldn’t come to the meeting in you pajamas.”

“I… didn’t think I’d need makeup for a late meeting, but thanks for subtly telling me to cover up my eyebags. Always appreciated,” Shuu rolled his eyes.“You got it,” Chie winked, before turning around and walking away. “The eagle will be down in twenty minutes,” she sent a vocal message to the group chat.

“Alright. Everything’s re-Naki, put that stuff down. We’re gonna eat those later. Anyway, everything’s ready here,” Kaneki replied, gently pulling Naki’s hand away from the bowl full of eyeballs.“Food? Music? The present?” Chie asked.“Yeah, everything. We got coffee, blood, and blood wine, along with eyeballs, fingers and some… stuff… that I’d rather not talk about. Nishiki and Kurona are handling the music, and Banjou and me brought the present.”

“Perfect. I’ll see you in two minutes. I just gotta take a picture of this fly on a wall.”

---

Tsukiyama had done his make up, combed his hair and put on a pair of black, skinny slacks and a black button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and was now walking toward the main room, which strangely had the door closed. He tilted his head in confusion and knocked gently, and after a few moments of complete silence, he opened the door and walked inside.

Suddenly, all the lights were turned on and a bunch of people jumped out of their hiding spots, screaming in unison “Surprise!!”.Tsukiyama gasped in shock and took a step back, holding his chest with a hand. “What… what’s this?”

“It’s a surprise birthday party, dumbass,” Touka chuckled, crossing her arms. “Courtesy of your tiny friend and Kaneki.”

“Oh… you didn’t… oh my god, you didn’t have to! Thank you,” Shuu exclaimed, looking around the room and already feeling the corners of his eyes prickling. No one had ever done anything even remotely similar to this for him.

“I’m here because there’s free alcohol,” Nishiki joked, leaning against the wall.

“We wanted to do something for you, after everything you’ve done for Goat. You’re… basically running this place now,” Kaneki smiled, taking a step forward to get closer to Tsukiyama. “It’s the least we could do.”

“Thank you so much, I would’ve never expected it. Thank god Chie told me to put on make up and be a little decent, otherwise I would’ve come down in my pajamas,” Shuu laughed, quickly wiping a little tear that had fallen on his cheek.

“What are we waiting for? Turn up the music!” Hinami laughed, before grabbing a shocked Ayato’s hand and dragging him to the empty space in the middle of the room.

“Come on. You deserve to have a little fun,” Kaneki smiled, extending his hand. Tsukiyama gladly took it, and followed him.

---

“I’m… I’m already feeling a little dizzy… I don’t think I can handle any more wine,” Tsukiyama groaned, his face burrowed in his arms and resting on the table.

“Dude, c’mon, it’s your birthday, get wasted!” Banjou hollered, pouring Tsukiyama another glass.“Maybe later… I need to rest a little,” the purple haired ghoul chuckled, turning around and looking at the dance floor, now that the song had just ended.

“And now, ladies and gentleman, a little throwback to almost ten years ago, because I am drunk and I loved this fucking song,” Nishiki announced, before choosing “Can I Have This Dance” from High School Musical 3.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe it,” Shuu laughed, shaking his head at the ridiculous choice, even though years before he had been a fan of those movies.Someone next to him cleared his throat, and he turned to see Kaneki standing at his right. “Uhm… sh-shall we?” Kaneki asked timidly, extending his hand toward Tsukiyama for the second time that night.

Shuu could feel his whole face burning and he was ready to throw up at any second, but he nodded vigorously and stood up, taking Kaneki’s hand and walking with him to the dance floor. Kaneki held Tsukiyama’s hand firmly and put his free one on his waist, pulling him closer and starting to sway slowly.

“…thank you for organizing all of this for me,” Tsukiyama said quietly, sneaking his arm around Kaneki’s neck and pretending not to be on the verge of passing out.

“No worries. You should thank Chie, she had the original idea. I... I only helped with the organization, and the present,” Kaneki shrugged, blushing lightly.“Oh my god, there’s a present too? You shouldn’t have, my dear,” Shuu smiled, shaking his head. He let Kaneki’s hand go and wrapped both of his arms around his neck, and Kaneki took it as a clue to put both his hands on Shuu’s whist.

“Shut up and accept it,” he chuckled, looking up at him fondly.“Anything for you, my King,” Tsukiyama murmured, starting to absentmindedly play with the hair at the base of Kaneki’s neck.Kaneki leaned in closer and closer, until he could feel the tip of their noses brushing gently against each other. He was so close to Tsukiyama, it would only take a couple more inches to…

“Let’s open the present!” Nishiki exclaimed, and Kaneki and Tsukiyama abruptly pulled away from each other, both of their faces as red as tomatoes.

There’s a special place in hell for animals like you, Tsukiyama thought, gritting his teeth.

“Oh. Yes. Uhm… right. It’s in the other room. But first, you need to put this on and let me guide you,” Kaneki said, pulling a piece of cloth from his pocket and tying it around Tsukiyama’s eyes.

“Kinky,” Touka snickered, which earned her a shocked look form Kaneki and a loud laugh from Banjou. Thank God Tsukiyama hadn’t heard that.Shuu was led to the next room, where his blindfold was taken off. In front of him there stood a beautiful white piano wrapped in a huge red bow, so shiny he could reflect his face on it.

“We decided to do it all together,” Kaneki said.“Yeah, but it was Kaneki’s idea. He knows all about you, and how much you like to play the piano,” a drunk Nishiki intervened, before leaning closer to Kaneki to whisper in his ear. “You’ll thank me later when you’ll be making him scream you name,” he wiggled his eyebrows and patted his shoulder, while Kaneki could only stare at him, mildli concerned.

“This is… so beautiful,” Tsukiyama murmured, walking up to the piano and gently running his fingers on the keys, before pressing down on one.“Thank you so much, guys, to all of you. For the party and the piano too,” he smiled, silently praying not to start crying in that exact moment, because his eyeliner wasn’t waterproof and it would be embarrassing.

“No worries. Now let’s go back to the party, I wanna see Ayato try to drink wine for the first time,” Touka laughed, followed by an angry “I’m not a kid, I can handle alcohol!” from Ayato. They started walking back toward the other room but Kaneki grabbed Tsukiyama’s wrist to prevent him from going.

“Actually… can we stay here for a moment, please?” he asked, and Tsukiyama swallowed thickly and nodded, turning to face him. “I… had another thing to give you. It’s nothing special, but… I dunno, I figured it might be something… nice. You can also not wear it if you don’t like it, it’s okay,” Kaneki added quickly, fishing a light blue-green box from his back pocket and handing it to Tsukiyama.

Oh my god it’s from Tiffany&Co., please let it be a wedding ring, Tsukiyama thought, taking the box with slightly shaky hands and prying it open, gasping quietly when he saw what was inside. It was a thin silver bracelet, a small charm in form of a heart hanging from it with the trademark Tiffany symbol engraved on it.

“Oh my god, Kaneki… i-it’s too much, you… it’s so pretty…” Shuu whispered, gently tracing the bracelet with the tip of his finger.“It’s… it’s nothing special,” Kaneki laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. “Chie told me you liked Tiffany and I thought I could get you something. To thank you of all the hard work you’re doing for us.”

After staring at him for a few seconds, Tsukiyama suddenly wrapped his arms tightly around Kaneki’s neck and tugged him impossibly close, burrowing his face in his shoulder and closing his eyes. “Thank you. It’s perfect, I love it,” he mumbled, feeling his heart stop for a moment as Kaneki hugged him back, whispering, “It’s no problem.”

They stayed like that for a few moments, before pulling away. Tsukiyama opened the box and Kaneki took the bracelet out, unclipping it and putting it around Shuu’s wrist. “It fits nice, doesn’t it?” he smiled, admiring how the silver bracelet shined slightly and softly caressing the back of Tsukiyama’s hand. “I swear I’ll never take it off. Except for when we spar or actually fight, I wouldn’t want to accidentally break it or lose it,” Tsukiyama said, looking up at Kaneki.

The half ghoul hesitated for a second, before cupping Shuu’s face with a hand and kissing his cheek firmly, still holding his hand with his other one.

“Happy birthday, Shuu. Now, are you ready to go back to the party?”

“Ready. Can’t wait to see you choke on wine.”

“Hey, I’m not like Ayato, I can actually drink it without coughing! At least it won’t take me two glasses to get drunk, unlike someone here.”

“...I’ll forgive you only because you gave me this bracelet.”

“You’d forgive me anyway.”

“Oh, shut up.”

Kaneki laughed at Shuu’s response and put the now empty box back in his pocket before they walked together to the other room. Their fingers were still laced together, and didn’t show any sign of wanting to let go soon.

#tg #shuuneki #kaneki ken #tsukiyama shuu #tokyo ghoul #tokyo ghoul :re #fic #kirishima touka #nishiki nishio

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mirajens · 7 years

Text

sandbox bullies

paring: laxus/mirajane rating: k chapter 2 of the rockabye series found on ff.n

Laxus teaches kindergarten. lms if u agree

Jesus, kids were cruel. It wasn’t the first time the thought had crossed Laxus’ mind. Maybe before his surprising career in early childhood education took off, he’d never given much of a shit about the mannerism or general existence of anyone under 10 years old but now, with an almost regular exposure to them, he could say a lot of them were a nasty bunch. They were kids, he knew, and they might outgrow being bullies but it didn’t make tolerating any injustice in his class any easier.

Yukino Strauss was a girl that was tiny in every sense of the word: a small child with a small voice and a small self-esteem. There were kids in every faction of his kindergarten that especially liked to pick on her and make her do their share of classroom chores.

Minerva, a chief in her austerity, was particularly troublesome in this regard. She had a rich father and thought she could do as she pleased and there would be no consequences. Minerva’s unkindness ran the gamut from breaking Yukino’s pencils to putting dead squirrels into Yukino’s lunch box. Mean, mean, mean kid. More than Laxus cared for, he’d caught Minerva making young Strauss do all the cleanup work by herself as the assigned group just watched. Laxus spent a good fifteen minutes of his lunch with his ulcer simmering as he told them off and sent them to do their work.

“Yukino, come here,” Laxus called from the nap corner just as everyone was vacating the class room. Yukino was always the last to go, always terrified of the shit she’d have to deal with in the playground. Laxus was just about at his wits end trying to figure out to put a stop to it without making more trouble for the girl.

Yukino approached, her steps short and quiet, about as unimposing as a gentle breeze. “Sorry, Mister Dreyar.”

Laxus sighed. He hated the sad look in her eyes and couldn’t bear to look at it. He sat on the ground with his legs crossed instead of crouching or bending because deny it as he might, his neck had kinks on top of kinks. He hated it much like he hated how he had to wear reading glasses orhow he had to take baby aspirin now. “You have to say no to them, okay? I know they’re making you do it and they’re being mean about it. I’m going to do my best to put a stop to that but you gotta help me, okay? You have to tell the mean kids no. You have to say no when you want to.”

He’d sent her off and left the matter alone for now. He could see Yukino being joined by Sting from the other class, a sulking Rogue in tow. She’d be safe until the bell rang.

Mirajane tried to make things work. Sometimes, she told herself, that was the absolute best you could do. Maybe before she got pregnant and had to raise a child all by herself, she had time to do her hair or do more than wash her face for skincare or use fabric conditioner on her sheets. Maybe before she gave the boot to her scumbag of an ex, their combined incomes would allow them to hire some help. Maybe if she didn’t insist on moving to the other side of town away from her family, she’d have a better support system. It was a lot of maybes. A lot of could’ve beens, too.

So far, Mirajane doesn’t mind all those maybes and could’ve beens. She liked her new life here. God knew she needed this job paying an associate salary since having a child was only bound to get more expensive as the days passed. Working on a standard auditor’s schedule was better, too. It was eight hours and you clocked out. No overtime, no fixed schedules. She made her rounds when she wanted to, as long as she clocked those eight hours in. Mira worked like a dog, but not enough to complain. She never gave herself the indulgence of self-pity, since she had bills on top of bills to pay.

She knew Yukino, too, struggled to adjust and it damn near broke Mirajane’s heart to see her so, but she was confident they would find their footing. No great things happened when people stayed in their comfort zones, anyway. This was going to be a good move for them. No more drama, no more of just barely scraping by.

Mirajane watched Yukino finishing her dinner in breakfast nook. Did other parents just look at their child all the time and never get sick of it? Mira thought she could watch Yukino sleep a whole 8 hours, and then the rest of the day seeing every frown, every tentative smile, every glossy-eyed yawn and not tire of it. Yukino was a peach. Even from birth, she never gave her mommy much trouble. Now Mira only worried because Yukino wasn’t making any friends in her class and the other kids were bullying her. Just today, Mirajane got an email from Yukino’s teacher to meet at any convenient time tomorrow so they could discuss it. She’d make time for it, and they’d work on a solution for it. Her child was there for an education, not harassment.

“Sweetie, will you finish your beans so we can clear the table and do the dishes? You need to be in bed soon.”

“I don’t like beans, mama.”

You and every other child in the planet, Mirajane wanted to say, but she shook her head instead. Yukino knew she couldn’t get up until she cleared her plate. “Finish your vegetables or you’re not leaving the table.”

Mira could see Yukino’s lower lip tremble. She was always so quick to cry when she thought her mother was upset with her. “I don’t want to.” Yukino said in a voice so quiet, Mirajane almost missed it.

“Well, you have to. I don’t want to argue, baby. You know you need to eat your veggies.”

For a while, Yukino didn’t open her mouth again, and Mirajane thought that was that. But after a moment of what looked to be contemplation, Yukino spoke again. “No.”

“What do you mean ‘no’?”

“NO!”

Mirajane’s eyes widened. She couldn’t say she heard that word much from Yukino, who always did as she was told, despite not liking it. “Oh no. You’re not going to sass me over veggies, missy.”

“No! Mister Dreyar said I have to say no when I want to.”

There was a time when Mirajane Strauss was called a demon for the expression of cold rage her face made when she was angry. Mister Dreyar was Yukino’s teacher. She’d meet him tomorrow and give him a piece of her mind. Right now, she was too tired for any arguments. “I don’t want you to yell at me again Yukino. That’s not nice. Eat your beans and then get ready for bed.” Mira rose from the table, collecting dishes for the wash and food for the tupperwares. By the sink, she could see from periphery Yukino stuff the beans into her mouth, chew ruefully, and chase it down with some water before leaving the table with a grimace.

She’d scheduled the parent/teacher meeting for after class so she could pick Yukino up and take her to the supermarket in one go. She’d met Mr Dreyar before, but not long enough to have a personal conversation like this. He always did look out of place among toys, alphabet posters and toddler-sized tables and chairs and that opinion didn’t change now, as he let her into the classroom, to his desk smartly facing the floor to ceiling window that gave them a view of the playground where Yukino played with the two boys from the other class.

“Right, I know you’re busy Mrs Strauss, so thanks for coming down.” Laxus said the moment they were seated.

Mirajane appreciated the no-nonsense tone. “I’m not busy enough for this. You said you had progress on the bullying?”

“Yes.” Laxus took a form out of his desk drawer, a carbon copy from the registrar’s office. “I want to move Yukino to the other class. She has friends there, and they’re good boys. They stick up for her and make her laugh. It won’t be very awkward for her to transition into the new class with friends like that. The other teachers and I are on the same curriculum so she won’t be behind or ahead. We’ve discussed it, and they’re willing to take her in and keep an eye on her just in case.”

Not quite expecting such an efficient solution so quick, Mirajane could admit that this was a pleasant surprise. “And the bullies?”

“I have more meetings with their parents this week to discuss punishment. Believe me when I say I won’t stand to see the kids undisciplined, Mrs Strauss. I will update you on what actions have been taken as soon as the parents sign off on it.”

Nodding, Mira stowed the reg form into her purse, ready to move on to another topic. “Last night, Yukino yelled at me. She’s never done it before, so it surprised me. She didn’t want to eat her vegetables and yelled ‘no’ and said that you told her to say no.”

Professional enough not to say the ‘what the fuck’ that was on the tip of his tongue but not enough to keep the frown off his face, Laxus replied, “I never told your daughter to not eat her vegetables or yell at her mother, Mrs Strauss. I told her to start saying no to kids who toy with her.”

All the fight just bubbling up in Mira’s throat died down. That’s what she got for being strung out and jumping to conclusions. “Oh. I suppose I didn't get the context...”

Laxus rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m sorry if she misunderstood. I just didn’t want her to let the other kids push her around, Mrs Strauss. I don’t teach my kids to disrespect their parents.”

“It’s miss.”

Laxus barely heard the small admission. In that moment, she reminded him so much of her daughter, how they spoke low when abashed. “I’m sorry?”

“It’s miss Strauss. You keep saying missus.” Mirajane waited a breath to see the realization in his eyes. “I’m not married.”

“My apologies.” Damn it. Keep up, Laxus. He squashed down the nervous impulse to scratch at the back of his neck again. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”

Mirajane nodded. A momentary silence passed before she spoke. “If you don’t mind me saying so, you don’t really look like a teacher.” Much less a kindergarten teacher.

“I get that a lot. I have a good background in education. I used to think I wanted to teach Ukranian lit like my mom did. I guess the wind just blows you places and you have to ride along with what it has planned for you.” Laxus shrugged, not particularly bothered about it anymore. “It’s not like it was a very tough decision anyway. I like kids.”

It made Mirajane smile, how easily he admitted to that. She disliked men who hesitated when proclaiming their fondness for children. “So do I. Do you have any?”

“No. My grandfather keeps reminding me how he wants to spend all his retirement money spoiling babies before he dies, but I think it’s not my time yet.” The memory made Laxus grin. Makarov just started being wheelchair bound three months ago and already he was making noise about how he was going to die without any great grandchildren.

“I think you’ll be great at raising children.”

“You’d think that, seeing as I teach them. But I go home every day feeling more out of my league trying to teach kids the basic concepts of human socialization through papier mache group projects than I did writing my dissertation on the Bukovyna Women’s Movement.” Struck by immediate relief and a sense of security, Laxus decided to end the meeting before he could say something stupid. “In any case, thank you for coming down today, Ms Strauss.” He offered his hand as both of them rose. She shook it in a firm grip.

“Mirajane, please.” She brushed wrinkles off her slacks and hefted her handbag. “I do appreciate all the help. I hope you’ll keep me apprised of any progress?”

Mirajane. It rang so lovely, even in his mind. “Of course. We can also integrate Yukino into the other class as soon as the paperwork gets done. The principal’s administrator will be calling you about that.”

When she smiled at him, he could feel his expression mirror hers. He felt too old to be experiencing this kind of pulse-raising when a pretty girl smiled at him. Get it together.

Thankfully, he showed her out without opening his big mouth and embarrassing himself. But one of these days, he’d have to figure out a way to ask miss Strauss out.

#fairy tail #Mirajane Strauss #Laxus Dreyar #Yukino Aguria #single parent au #kindergarten teacher au #my heart is warm when i think of laxus teaching kids their abcs #rockabye series

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