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lemonsdaydreams · 9 months

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breaking the distance. |c.b|

summary: You and Colby have been dating for nearly two years, enduring long distance and making the best out of time zones and chaotic work/ school schedules. The two of you knew one day the distance would be shortened to where there would be no more planes needed to see each other, and date night could finally be more than just facetiming and watching a movie together at the same time. One of you just happened to know it would be happening sooner rather than later.

~*~*~*~*~*~

No one ever expected Colby and I’s relationship to last, and I couldn’t really blame them. On the outside looking in, It seemed like it was a storm waiting to happen. Colby, a very well known social media content creator, constantly traveling and investigating new locations with his best friend in and outside the country, and lives on the west coast of the united states. Me, a non social media content creator, studying emergency paramedicine, lives on the east coast, and never even had a passport until two months ago. The main thing people always loved to throw at us was the distance. ‘Why date someone who lives a 5 hour plane ride away, when there’s plenty of people here in the same state for you to choose from?’

I personally didn’t fully expect us to be where we are right now when I met Colby over two years ago. It’s crazy how things happen though, how quickly you connect with a person. It’s as if I’d known him my whole life, as if I was connecting with an old friend I hadn’t seen in years that night at the bar. We talked and talked for hours, the rest of the crowded bar tuned out and all I saw was him. Colby and his friends he had traveled to the east coast with a few days later after we first ended up coming over to my apartment for a game night after constantly texting and getting to know each other more. Ironically, one of his friends that came with him, I knew from my childhood. Talk about a small world.

The buzzing of my cellphone in my hand snapped me out of the daydream I was in. A smile quickly spread across my face as I spotted Colby’s name on the caller ID before answering.

“Finally waking up, Mr. Brock?” I smiled as I held the phone to my ear.

“I’m so sorry beautiful, I slept through my alarm. I totally planned on waking up earlier to be able to talk to you in case you began to stress over your exam today.” His morning voice was something that always caught me off guard, the deep rasp. It always made me yearn for the day I’d be able to hear it in person, and not over the phone.

Of course over the past two years we’ve met up and spent time together, however it was usually when him and Sam were on a trip to film or when I had a small break between semesters at school and could afford to visit him.

“It’s okay Colby, I promise.” I smiled to myself and attempted to contain my excitement as I scanned the empty apartment once more. “I’ve been just cleaning and relaxing on the couch. I think if I tried reading any more of my textbooks my eyeballs might fall out of my head.”

Colby chuckled as my apartment door swung open, and I quickly muted myself as Seth, the friend of Colby’s that I’ve known since childhood came in. “Who’s ready to mo- oh shit, are you on the phone?” He quickly covered his mouth with a hand.

“Yeah, with Colby.” I giggled before giving him a ‘shh’ and taking myself off mute.

“You’re going to do great. You always do great. This is the final bridge needing to be crossed and then I’ll be able to have you in my arms every night and hear about the crazy encounters you have at work in person. God, I can’t wait for that to be real, beautiful. I miss you so much.”

“I can’t believe that it’s finally here. Just this semester and then I’m done, graduated, nationally registered to work anywhere in the country. By the way, My supervisor reached out to the base that’s not far from where you live, and they have an open paramedic spot that is up for grabs.” I bit my bottom lip and glanced at Seth who also shared the same nervous look.

I’ve always hated lying, and lying to Colby these past few months have been absolute torture. But he’s always the one surprising me, I wanted to finally surprise him. I ended up taking an earlier program that Colby didn’t know about, which allowed me to graduate and become a paramedic three months ago. However, Colby still thought I had another two months to go. During this time since finishing school, I’ve been working and studying protocols for the state I’d be moving to, coordinating with Sam on shipping my stuff to Vegas from New England without Colby seeing the boxes, selling stuff I don’t need to bring, and basically getting ready to move to Vegas. Of course, Colby knew this day would be coming, as we have a whole checklist we share on google docs to make sure we have everything lined up for when the day comes, He just doesn’t know it’s happening sooner. Or that I’m going to be there, in like 12 hours.

“Baby, Is it okay if I let you go? I can call you back later. I have to bring my phone to the apple store, I finally got an appointment to get my battery fixed.” I ran a hand through my hair, constantly reminding myself mentally the lying would be over soon.

“Oh good, I’m so glad you got that appointment babe, I have to get going anyway. Sam and I have to go meet up with some friends to film a video, but text or call me as soon as you finish your exam okay? I love you.”

After saying goodbye and hanging up, I groaned and laid back on the empty granite counter. “Dude, no wonder you hate lying. Thank god that wasn’t a facetime call or one look at your face and Colby would see your face and just know you were hiding something.” Seth chuckled and I flipped him the bird.

“Can we go get coffee before we head to the airport? This whole not having my own car thing sucks.” Seth chuckled once more before nodding and holding out his rental keys that I snatched out his hand before he could speak. “Yes, I’ll drive. You drive worse than my grandmother.”

“Now boarding Group A.”

“I’m really flying to Vegas without a return ticket.” I mumbled as I handed my ticket to the flight attendant at the gate. I glanced over my shoulder at Seth who stood behind me, laughing. “You’re finally moving to Vegas. Which means Sam and I won’t have to hear Colby talk about how much he misses your voice all the time and try to figure out what haunted places we could go see near where you live.”

“Are you sure he won’t question why my phone is off for over five hours? I mean we don’t talk on the phone all day every day, but we usually check in over text to say Hi and that we miss each other or something. I don’t think a phone battery replacement would take five hours.” I buckled my seatbelt once Seth and I got to our assigned seats. “You seriously worry too much.” Seth patted my hand as he smiled. “We’ve got it all figured out. He isn’t going to have any time to check his phone with what they’re filming.”

“This is going to be a long ass five hours, Seth. This is why teleportation should be a thing. I could already be there, with Colby.” I sighed as I turned to look out the window, anxiously tapping my foot on the ground. Seth laughed and out of the corner of my eye, I spotted him hold his phone out to take a photo.

“Don’t you dare post that.” I looked at him wide eyed, which caused Seth to laugh more. “Relax, It’s a video. For memories.” I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms across my chest. “Should I yell it out now that you’re a paramedic, just in case there’s a medical emergency?”

“Don’t you dare. I’m too nervous to provide any care, nor do I want to start my career as a medic off by taking care of someone on a plane. Why aren’t we moving yet?” I peered up and around the seats, huffing as I noticed not everyone was seated.

“God this is going to be so funny to look back on.” Seth mumbled as he put his phone down.

~*~

“I’ve got all your stuff in the storage unit, and your car should be arriving in the next few days.” Sam smiled as he drove Seth and I from the airport. Colby was back at the house editing and thinking Sam had just gone out to get food for the two of them. “It’s really good to finally see you, by the way. Colby is going to lose his mind.”

“I’m so nervous.” I mumbled looking out the window of the car and taking in the change of scenery. “He thinks I’m still in my exam right now.”

“Oh I know. Dude is a love sick puppy right now.” Sam laughs and gives me a smile. “Once we get to the house, I’m going to go inside to ask Colby to come out and help me grab some stuff from my car, but in reality it will only be you.” He added while Seth readjusted the camera on the dash of the car. I nodded and prayed we’d be arriving at the house soon.

Once at the house, I laid down in the back seat of the car to hide until Colby came out. “Yeah it’s on the passenger side in the back, If you can just grab it for me as well as the camera!” Sam called out, signaling that Colby was coming my way. Before I knew it, the door was swung open and I quickly sat up and smiled as my eyes landed on Colby. “Surprise!”

Colby stared in shock for a moment, eyes wide with confusion. Next thing I knew, He was grabbing my legs and pulling me out of the vehicle and up into his arms. My arms quickly wrapped around his neck, resting my head on his shoulder and wrapping my legs around him as he held me. “What is going on?” Colby yelled out, turning to glance at his friends back at the doorway before slamming the car door and moving so I was pressed against it and using one of his hands to pull my head back so he could see my face. “You have an exam?” His eyebrows furrowed.

“Baby.” I laughed softly. “Oh my gosh I’ve absolutely hated lying to you. I graduated early, That’s why I was so busy over break and couldn’t see you. I didn’t tell you because I wanted to surprise you by being able to finally be here sooner than you thought.” I cupped his face in my hands and blinking back tears as I finally got a good look at him. “I can’t believe I’m here.”

“I missed your graduation?” He frowned, resting his forehead against mine. “I’m so confused baby.” He quickly closed the distance between us and kissed me gently. “But dear god have I been dying to kiss you.” He mumbled against my lips.

“No, It was a winter graduation so there’s no walk you didn’t miss anything.” I kissed him once more. “But I’m here. no more distance. It’s finally broken.” I ran a hand through his hair as I stared into his blue eyes. Colby pulled me closer once more and began kissing me again, deeper this time before beginning to head towards the house. “You guys should probably head our for a while.” Colby mumbled as he passed Sam and Seth, his gaze still set on me. “Already planned on it. We’ll be back later. Welcome home!” Sam called out as Colby walked away from them, still carrying me. I let out a small laugh and began kissing Colby’s cheeks and playing with his hair at the nape of his neck.

“I can’t believe you lied.” Colby fake pouted as he gently tossed me on his, ours now, bed before climbing on top of me. “But it was so worth it.” He mumbled before kissing me. “Now it’s time for me to welcome you home.” He smirked.

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hotxcheeto · 8 months

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My request is bakugo x female reader. They are neighbors but they live in apartments he kinda ha a crush on her and brings her roses or flowers in general but one morning she catches him so she asks him on a date ( he is a pro hero btw an she works as a nurse in a hospital)

━ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝟗𝐓𝐇 𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐑 𝐀𝐋𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐃 𝐁𝐔𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐓

𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜(𝙨) -Katsuki Bakugou x Fem!Reader

𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 - Cursing ( obvi ), slight mentions of reader wanting to jokingly run off a building, mentions and light descriptions of injuries (kats + other unnamed hero)

𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 ? - Yeah/Nope

𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧'𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙚 - i lost this request in my drafts? like it just disappeared? idk it was so weird but i found it, it's adorable, so sorry it took so long lol! ily! MY REQUESTS ARE OPEN!

REBLOG MY WORK! I WORK HARD & IT'S APPRECIATED!!

The first time you met him was an unfortunate one.

It sadly began with a broken jar of almond butter.

You wanted to try it and you finally had scheduled the perfect time to go grocery shopping, on a day you didn't want to toss yourself off your balcony head first. You wondered if living on the ninth floor was a good idea each time you'd come home from a twelve or ten hour shift with a migraine and aching feet. Staring ominously at the glass door near your couch while eating chips and giggling at the hot actors on screen.

It was the catalyst though, that ninth floor, because the day the elevator broke and you had to carry your groceries all the way up, you just so happened to run into a man flying through the door at the same time you were opening it.

There went the almond butter down the ten stairs you'd just climbed to finally reach your home ground. But the eighth floor must've been tempting as it tried heading back that way.

The glass container had taken the tumble when your neighbor and you collided. It was no one's fault truly, and he apologized, but you could barely hear him over the sound of his gorgeous face.

You'd seen him before. Somewhere. Oh God, where was it?

"Sorry, I should've been paying attention." You had said, picking things that had spilled out of your bags while trying not to take a fall down the stairs yourself from the pain in your body.

"I'm not the one that got hit by a fuckin' door." His bluntness had made you snort, covering your mouth quickly to hide your laughter, having to pause your actions as you giggled.

"It was not that funny." He then said, biting back a smirk. You shook your head though, continuing to tuck yourself away and stand up. "It's not that." You then turned, seeing the splattered caramel colored condiment on the cement just below.

"Aww. I was looking forward to that."

The stranger's head swiveled to the side as he stood, looking at the broken mess. Then to your slight pout, watching the way you put your hands on your hips then shrugged.

"I bet it tasted like shit anyway." You shrugged.

It was his turn to laugh, gravelly and genuine.

"Here, I got these." He then said, gesturing to the bags. "I'll call maintenance after." "No, it's okay, I got it really." You nodded, moving to pick up your groceries but he'd snatched them before you could, grabbing most of the bags with one hand making his muscles flex in his arm.

"Oh-" "Which one's yours?"

From there you'd shown him your door which just so happened to be beside his, thanking him again a few times while he tried to reimburse you for the lost almond spread but you denied. Stating that you didn't need it and you for sure could live without it.

And with that, you and your neighbor parted ways...

until you met again that is.

The second time you met him was even more unfortunate.

You'd been rushing around the hospital after a horrible attack in Tokyo that left many of the hero's injured. That meant it also left you with another few hours of trying not to trip over your coworkers and get hit by flying beds.

By the time you reached one of the patients assigned to you he'd already begun fighting the other nurses that had been trying to help make him and all the others in the room comfortable.

His hero suit was ripped where he'd been injured, the black fabric hiding the fact that he was bleeding. Though it was obvious to you who could see it in the bright lights that shone down onto your bodies. The red just barely visible, your eyes then scanning a certain familiar tuff of blonde hair you swore you'd seen before.

"I'm fine you shitheads!"

"Mr. Dynamight, sir, you need to take a seat you've lost a lot of bl-"

"Did you not hear me damn it!"

He sounded a bit like a toddler as you came around holding everything you thought you needed in your arms. You looked so amusing standing there holding it all scooped against your chest while watching the scene play out.

"Hi." You then spoke up with your trained customer service smile, working retail back then sure helped in these situations. Though if he happened to throw something at you, there was no blocking it from hitting the target that would become your forehead.

"My name is Y/n, m'gonna help you out today, sir."

It's like the world stopped turning from the dead silence that came over him. The others stared at him with wide eyes and slight confusion while glancing over at you as if silently asking what the hell he was doing.

He just stood and twitched.

And then he turned, and a face you'd just seen a few days ago met yours. You didn't break though, showing him what you had.

"I can patch you up and you'll be out of here in barely a few hours, I swear. Now, leave us alone here guys?"

Your fellow peers quietly gave you a nod, running off to help the guy with yellow hair complaining that his head hurt and to stop his crying out, only repeating that he felt like a spaghetti noodle.

"I knew that I knew you from somewhere." You then smiled towards him, setting your stuff down and guiding him to actually sit instead of standing all hunched over and angry. "But I just couldn't put my finger on it." You finished, beginning to examine his cuts.

"Hm.." Was all you got from him, the tips of his ears slightly red as you looked his torso over. "You're gonna have to take this top part off. So I can see what I'm working with."

He did what you'd asked, jaw clenched as he moved, obvious that he was in pain. Though, not a sound passes his chapped lips that were lightly tinted pink. His suit finally dropped, pooling around his hips giving you full access to each of the large scratches and cuts that riddled his flesh.

"So Dynamight is my neighbor." You broke the quiet, cleaning a cut on his shoulder while he watched you with his crimson eyes. "How interesting." You joked, moving to his side to continue.

"Not what you expected?" He then asked quietly, watching as you shook your head. "I thought you were just another gym bro." He smiled slightly when you giggled at your term, trying not to hiss when you cleaned a much deeper cut on his side.

"Turns out... you're a hero. In the top three too, and I didn't even realize." You teased yourself, lifting his arm up to press a bandage to his side. "I feel kind of silly now."

"It's nice." You glanced up when he then spoke, grabbing another bandage as he continued to go on, "Not having every person you meet drop to their knees in adoration." You smiled at that, nodding your head, even ignoring his slight dramatic tone.

"Has to be refreshing." The not-so-stranger agreed, at your response.

"Like you wouldn't believe."

You continued to clean him up in silence, though not stiff, it was more of a comfortable atmosphere while you finished up. Leaving him to go attend to others but something about the interaction never left your mind.

And when you got home that night, tired and looking forward to watching Netflix with your cat. A glistening jar of almond butter and a bouquet of flowers sat on the mat in front of your door. No note, no other sign of life in the hall. Just those two things.

But you knew who they were from.

The third, fourth and fifth time were a bit different.

Each time you'd run into him at the hospital, it was always a result of him getting hurt, but you'd been the only nurse besides your boss that could handle him, and your boss nearly threw a bedpan at him the last time.

You'd help him with no words needing to be exchanged to make you understand why he hated the help. Though, you would never say it out loud, like he preferred, the less you talked, the more he'd begun to crave it.

Yearning to hear you joke with him or maybe tease him about the fact that he's practically deaf and you can tell because he keeps his TV incredibly loud. So loud your wall vibrates sometimes and you have to knock to get him to turn it down a notch or two.

He blames it on the explosions.

You never argue with that.

And each time you arrived home there would be flowers sitting in wait for you, and each time you knew who they were from, but you never brought it up.

Days to weeks passed between each time he got his ass handed to him. But he never faltered. He had a goal, and when Katsuki had a goal, he was gonna meet it.

You brushed it off, thinking it was a sweet way to say thank you from someone who practically choked and fought air trying to say those two words to anyone let alone a stranger.

A stranger that now knew you loved almond butter and talked to her cat all day. Sometimes even responding by meowing back and he'd, not in a creepy way, just sit to listen to you.

He came to a realization that he knew your first name. But he'd never told you his, and though you could've easily googled it, he couldn't help but wonder if you cared enough.

You did, the moment you met him as Dynamight, you couldn't tear yourself away from your laptop. You wanted to know who was behind the mask, in the Marvel sense of the words. Now that you had met both the hero, and your neighbor.

And you learned who your neighbor was pretty quickly.

Bakugou Katsuki.

The sixth time, he grew a pair.

He felt kind of stalkerish constantly leaving the gifts, and he hoped silently that he was creeping you out. Coming out of the elevator expecting to see an empty hallway, but you'd gotten off early and were already crouched down and petting the kitty that had waddled through the door to greet you.

Fucking hell, you were starting to be everywhere.

Or maybe that was just in his mind.

"You don't have to get me flowers every time you know, if you keep getting thrown through buildings, I'm gonna run out of vases."

Well at least you didn't throw out the other flowers.

"That was one time." He spoke up, stepping towards you and tucking his hands in his pockets to warm his hands. His compression shirt showing off each and every little indent in his torso making your heart skip a beat.

You felt like a teenager again.

"Tell that to the ribs you fractured." You said, your cat dancing around your legs and then moving to his. Purring and stepping up against him to gain his attention, but that was all on you.

"She likes you." You smiled, looking down at her before meeting his eyes. "She doesn't like anyone." "Cats got good taste if she likes you."

You looked away, a shy expression flashing on your face as you rocked back and forth on your heels.

"I mean... I could say the same for you."

There was a very juvenile giddiness that you both felt in your gut, the man watching you pick up your cat before grinning at him.

"So am I allowed to call you Bakugou now? Or do I still have to call you Mr. Dynamight?"

"You're an idiot."

"Mr. Dynamight it is."

You turned to bring in your baby but he'd cleared his throat, your head turning to face him. Your heart pounding in your chest.

"I was thinking..." "Yes."

He raised an eyebrow, gawking at you for a split second.

"You don't even know what I was gonna say?" He all but yelled slightly, you only laughed.

"Yes I do." You nodded, the cat meowing in agreement. "But I want you to cook, I am so sick of just smelling it in the hallway."

He blushed profusely, looking down at the ground. Swallowing before nodding and giving a light scoff.

"Whatever, see you tonight."

And that he did.

a/n: this sucks, but it was my first time writing for him :)

requests now open - i promise i'll get better at it just like i did with my older fandoms

#katsuki bakugo mha #mha bakugo katsuki #katsuki bakugou #bakugou katsuki #bnha bakugo katsuki #katsuki bakugo x reader #katsuki bakugo imagine #bakugou x reader #mha bakugou #bakugo katsuki #katsuki x reader #bakugou x y/n #bakugou x you #katsuki bakugou x reader #katsuki bakugou x you #katsuki bakugou x female reader

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cellythefloshie · 5 months

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;; Nu är det jul igen written for @mp0625 the hockey girlies fic exchange

Summary: You spend your first Christmas with your boyfriend, Freddie Andersen. Word Count: 1.2k+

A/N: It's a miracle that I was able to get enough time to get this one done! I was worried I was going to run out of time! Thank you Mara or taking the time to coordinate the exchange! It was a pleasure writing for you this year. Happy Holidays to all, I hope enjoy!

The scent in the air could only really be defined as the holidays. It was a whimsical mixture of sugar cookies, pine needles, and the simmering pot of citrus and cinnamon that you had on the stove. It was just like how it smelt back home at Christmas every year, but this year, you weren't at home with your family. This year, you were spending Christmas with your boyfriend, Freddie.

With the tight schedule, the National Hockey League kept, the holiday season could be lonely for some. Not every man on the roster had their family living in Carolina with them or could make one quick drive or flight out of state to see them for the few short days they had off. Freddie couldn’t fly home to Denmark. The 20+ hours of travel time made the trip unjustifiable. He would have to spend most of it in the air, losing precious time with his loved ones alone on a flight. And no one deserved to spend the holiday season alone.

That was why, the moment you found out he was remaining state-side for the holidays, you canceled all of your plans.

Your mother was more than understanding, although your father was wary as to why you didn’t just bring him home for the holidays. And you had half the mind to ask, but your relationship with Freddie was, well, in your mind, still new. The two of you had been together just over a year, but with his busy schedule, you found yourself apart more often than not. And while you were head over heels for him, and couldn’t wait to introduce him to your family, the last thing you wanted was to rush things.

With little protest, home for the holidays became spending Christmas Eve in Freddie’s apartment. It didn’t have the same novelties of home, but the two of you had spent the day getting into the Christmas spirit. You had put on the simmering pot in the morning, letting its smell relax you as you decorated the apartment and put up a small artificial tree in the corner, complete with lights and ornaments. Then, the two of you made cookies together, and come sunset, the two of you snacked on a charcuterie board of cheeses, nuts, meat, and fruit while bingeing some of your favorite holiday movies.

It was the last chance the two of you had to relax, because come Christmas Day, you would be conquering cooking Christmas dinner for yourselves for the first time. Which you didn’t even want to think about until morning. The giant turkey was all too intimidating for you as you sipped a glass of wine and watched the credits roll. A single hand fell to the remote, your thumb pressing the series of buttons to close the current movie and fall back into the holiday movie catalog on Netflix. Beside you, the couch shifted, Freddie getting up from his place beside you. And you didn't think much of it. Maybe he had to use the washroom or wanted to refill the bowl with some of the caramel popcorn you had made for your movie night.

Freddie didn’t return with a bowl. No, in his hands he had a large box. It wasn’t something that came in the mail, none of those big brown packing boxes. It was nicely wrapped in bright red paper with a bow so large it spilled off the top of the box and hung down the sides.

“I was going to wait until morning, but,” he started, his words perking you up with interest.

If you didn’t have to wait, you weren’t going to say no.

Opening your arms, you let Freddie settle the box in your lap. The sheer size of it left your heart racing. It wasn’t all that heavy, which gave you no clear indication of what may be inside. You hadn’t asked for anything too grand, either. Which made you all the more eager to open it.

Fingers lipped the bow from the box, the sticker holding the ribbon to the box leaving a colorless mark behind where the adhesive tore away the color. Then, you tore at the wrapping, leaving it in large rips at your sides, removing just enough to open the box and see what was inside.

The first thing you saw was a bouquet of daisies. Which made you smile. They were fresh, or as fresh as you could get them in the winter. Freddie must have just put the finishing touches on your gift before giving it to you.

“These are gorgeous,” you smiled up at him. The two of you loved daisies. They reminded him of home, and it had quickly become one of your favorites because of it.

“There’s more,” Freddie insisted, and you handed off the flowers to keep digging for more. Beneath the daisies was white green and red tissue paper and among it a series of other gifts. Your hands went to a smaller box fist. Inside, two crystal swans from Swarovski. Your eyes went wide as they rose to meet Freddie’s.

He smiled and nodded toward the box. There was more.

Then, unwrapped, a large bottle of akvavit and two glasses. And finally, an envelope. But as you reached for it, Freddie reached in with his goalie-fast reflexes and took it into his hold.

“Hey!” you shouted playfully.

“You will get it. But first, we drink. It’s tradition,” he explained with a grin, his hand wrapping around the bottle while he tucked the envelope beneath his thick thigh.

The bottle opened with a satisfying sound, and he filled each glass halfway. Together, you raised your glasses, and each took one large gulp of the liquor that burned as it traveled down your throat. It was only when your face contorted from the burn of the alcohol that Freddie offered you the envelope again.

Placing your drink down on the coffee table, you reached out and pinched the envelope between your fingers carefully. Whatever it was, he was just as excited for you to open it as you were to receive it. The gifts you already opened were just the precursor. In this envelope was the grand finale of gifts.

It’s a beautiful card, with a snowscape. Green pine trees, and snow a glitter that left traces behind on your skin. But it was what was in the card that mattered, and they fell right into your lap as you opened the card.

Two plane tickets to Denmark.

You stared at them, your eyes wide and your jaw slacked. You weren’t expecting that, and he could see it all over your face. A laugh rumbled through him, and you could feel it as his hands found your hips to draw you into his lap. “I want you to come home with me when the season is done. Meet my family.”

A heavy breath shook you, his gaze raising to meet his warm stare. You had been on the same page the entire time but had always been too worried to ask. But he was telling you now. The two of you were serious. He wanted you to meet his family, and he could meet yours. It left you beaming, your smile reaching your eyes as you gave him an eager nod. Of course, you would go, and you sealed the agreement with a warm, simple kiss with both of his hands, cradling each of your cheeks as he drew you in. And as he held you there, he pulled back ever so slightly and muttered out a soft, Merry Christmas.

#frederik andersen #freddie andersen #nhl fanfic #nhl fanfiction #nhl rpf #hockey rpf #hockey imagines #hockey girlies fic exchange #happy holidays #carolina hurricanes

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landinrris · 1 month

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ohmygod you have GOT to write a drabble about the norrix shirtgate of march 2024 ™️ please

Oh ho ho something like this? Last night Taylor wrote some dialogue that popped into my head (as I have been doing lately), and this afternoon Taylor fleshed it out a bit. This is more in line with a reaction to the shirt + the Instagram photo, but still, same idea and same crazy.

Lando’s just finishing toweling his hair when his phone starts ringing. It’s nine in the morning— probably Max calling to see where he is and if he can have another fifteen minutes on their scheduled meet-up time.

The caller ID isn’t Max though. It’s Martin, a selfie of the two of them from Australia smiling up at Lando from where his phone is sitting on the bathroom counter. Lando quickly counts back the ten-hour time difference and is surprised Martin’s even still awake after the long day he’s had.

Beggars can’t be choosers though. Lando slides his finger across the answer button and presses the speakerphone before Martin has a chance to say anything. “Hello?”

Lando directs his attention back to his reflection in the mirror and sets about sorting out the tangled mop on top of his head.

“Are you trying to get me to out myself?” Martin asks point-blank, sounding semi-serious. Given the hour, he could also just be tired.

Lando’s fingers pause in his hair, and he glances back down at the phone as if it holds all the answers. “In what way?” It clicks in the few seconds between Lando finishing his question and Martin speaking again. He could easily correct himself but finds he wants to hear Martin admit to whatever embarrassing reaction he had to Lando’s post.

“Those pictures? In the shirt you stole from me? You did that on purpose.”

Lando can’t help the self-satisfied and questioning hum that makes it past his lips. Because Martin's right, almost. He didn't originally set out with the intention to take the photos wearing that shirt, but Lando woke up missing Martin a little harder in his jet-lagged state than he was prepared to. So, he shrugged on the shirt he’d stolen on the tail end of their France trip even though everyone would inevitably trace the origin of it. (Lando had caught Max trying to pretend he wasn’t looking at first, but rather than put him out of his misery, Lando let him stew.)

And then they'd stumbled across the new art that hadn't been in the graffiti alley last year. Max had looked at him knowingly, suggestively, this time not hiding what he was trying to infer, and Lando had taken the bait.

Only later, as he was looking through the photos, up early again because of jet lag, did Lando decide fuck it.

He and Martin talked about their plans for the year while they were in Vietnam, zipped inside their tent for the night and alone with their thoughts. They're not hiding anymore per se, themselves or their relationship. Lando’s finished with not just posting whatever the hell he wants because of what it’ll eventually look like.

Hide in plain sight, Martin agreed.

Now Martin groans somewhat dramatically. “Menno had to take my phone. My fingers were hovering over the keyboard for too long and he caught me.”

“They were not.” Because there’s no way. If Lando didn’t know better, he’d think Martin was reacting to the more blatant thirst traps in his .mov post.

“Lando, baby, have you seen the photos? And you didn't warn me. What do you expect me to do when you’re sitting there looking comfortable and proud like that?”

Just the implication makes Lando's face warm and his chest ache. It’s at least another month before they see each other in China, and the days feel exponentially long looking at a calendar. “I expect you to be a normal human who doesn’t feel like risking it all over an aesthetic picture. At least wait until I post another thirst trap,” Lando muses. He turns to prop his hip up against the counter and picks up the phone to bring it closer to his face to pull up Instagram.

Most of the comments are normal, taking the aesthetic at face value. A few people play into the tone of the bubblegum pink hearts. A few more seem to have the nerve to call him on what he’s trying to do.

“Post a thirst trap and see what happens.”

The smile that spreads across Lando’s face hurts his cheeks. “Maybe that’s in tomorrow’s dump. Guess you’re gonna have to go to bed to find out.”

A huff of laughter from Martin’s side of the phone might as well be music to Lando’s ears. “Fine, you freak. You can tell me about everything when I’m not about to fall asleep. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Can’t wait. Talk to you later.” The line goes quiet, much to Lando’s disappointment. He swears he could talk to Martin forever and not get bored— about everything and nothing at all. When Martin calls him at the end of his day, rested and recovered, Lando’s sure he’ll hear all about how the half marathon went. He’ll be on the brink of passing out himself, but he won’t care. He’ll lay there listening and counting down the days until next time.

#don't ask me why i just like writing their phone conversations but i have approximately 5 (including this) snippets of just convos #I think the idea is to maybe do something with them eventually but here's this one for now #norrix #writing tag #lando #martin

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hela-avenger · 1 year

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p&w: you, me and the avengers make three

Author: hela-avenger

Word Count: 1824

Summary: pranks are all fun and games until someone gets hurt... and your hit list has quite a few names to cross.

(alternative title: all is fair in love and war)

A/N: I've finally got to it! Hope to write a few more short extras before finally commencing the sequel of poison & wine.

poison & wine masterlist

You didn’t put two and two together until it became blatantly obvious that your friends had initiated a prank war that revolved around you.

It started slowly and so casually that you chalked it off as your friends just really missing you. The first few days back to the compound, specifically the mornings, were taken up by Nat and Wanda who insisted on daily brunches or long coffee runs to catch up on all the gossip surrounding your trip to Asgard and your sudden relationship with Loki.

The remainder of the day was for the boys as Steve and Bucky took up a lot of your time reminiscing on the old days and hoping to outdrink you when they noticed you could keep up with them.

With this schedule thrust upon you, your nights were the only moments you had to spend with Loki and even then you both were quick to fall asleep, missing a chance to actually spend time together.

It wasn’t until you slept in one day enjoying Loki’s company for once that the pieces finally came together.

Nat and Wanda were quick to ambush you into going out for lunch and when you explained that you would like to spend a day with your boyfriend did they double down. If that wasn’t hint enough, you were quickly surrounded by Steve and Bucky who insisted on taking you out on a trip to DC to visit the local museums.

“What is going on?” you questioned them but the moment those words came out of your mouth did they quickly make themselves scarce.

The final nail on the coffin was when you returned to Loki only to find him fending off his own brother.

“No, Thor,” he exclaimed. “I do not want to spar with you nor do I wish to venture out on the filthy streets of New York to visit Central Park. There is no amount of groveling that will convince me. I’m quite tired of these adventures you keep trying to convince me of so make haste and leave my sight before you find a dagger pierced to your side.”

Thor throws his hands in surrender as he backs out of Loki’s room. You’re quick to stop his exit though much to Loki’s discontent.

“Actually Thor, stay,” you tell him, narrowing your eyes at the god. “I have some questions that are in need of answers.”

You watch Thor visibly swallow as you direct him to the couch.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Thor answers too quickly. “I just wish to spend time with my brother, that’s all.”

“Right,” you whisper. You take a moment to gather your thoughts and let the silence in the room grow. Thor glances at the door and Loki starts to catch on.

“Darling, what is this about?”

“Nothing,” you wave him off as you settle on a course of action. “Old age must be getting to me because I just had some silly thoughts, that’s all.”

You turn to Thor and smile.

“You’re free to leave, Thor. Sorry to keep you.”

Thor’s relief is instant as he jumps up from the couch and heads for the doors. The moment his hand reaches for the handle is when you decide to strike.

“Oh and Thor?” you call out. “Tell Nat and the rest of them better luck next time because revenge is coming and it’s coming for each and every one of you.”

Thor is quick to retract his hand and turns back to face you with complete and utter fear. Loki is amused at the sight but surprised to see you rendering his brother in such a state.

“My love, an explanation please?” Loki speaks as he wraps his arms around your waist.

“It seems like my friends and your brother have been scheming behind our backs,” you explain. “But I might be inclined to offer mercy if an apology is made.”

“Apologies, my lady,” Thor quickly exhales, dropping down to one knee and crossing his arm across his chest. “My deepest and most sincere apologies.”

“Apology accepted, Thor,” you laugh out. “You may rise.”

“As much as I enjoy your groveling, brother,” Loki states with a grin. “What scares you so much about my darling little pet? I’ve never seen you so regretful after pulling pranks on me.”

“Well, I know what to expect of you, Loki,” Thor answers. “Daggers and magic and humiliation in front of many, many people but as for your better half…”

Thor trails off unsure of how to explain it.

“He simply doesn’t know what to expect,” you answer. “Perhaps I’ll leave all of you on edge never knowing when I’ll enact my revenge and when enough time has passed and all has been forgotten, in a moment of pure peace and serenity, I’ll strike everyone with the things they fear the most and likely cause such life-altering trauma that they potentially never heal from.”

Thor looks at you in pure horror.

“Or maybe I’ll place laxatives in your food,” you add with a wave of your hand. “It’s really hard to decide which one to do.”

Thor can’t help the shiver of fear that runs down his body.

“I spoke too soon. You might be the better half in this scenario, brother,” Thor whispers. “You two are really made for each other.”

Loki can’t help but laugh at his brother’s expense as he presses a kiss on the curve of your neck before letting go of your waist.

“Though she be but little, she is fierce,” Loki comments. “It’s nice not to be on the receiving end of your wrath, darling.”

You plop down on your couch as you try to plan every detail of your upcoming vengeance. The growing silence is evident and Loki takes notice of the glint of fire in your eyes.

“What exactly are you planning?”

“It’s war, Loki,” you answer. “All is fair in love and war.”

The cork flies perfectly across the kitchen and you are quick to carry the overflowing champagne bottle to the sink. Nat and Wanda can’t help but laugh as you scramble for the pitcher of orange juice and top it off.

“We really are sorry,” Wanda apologizes. “It really was a harmless prank.”

“I’m not really sorry,” Nat remarks. “You come back from this mysterious trip in Asgard, disappear, and when you do eventually make your way back to us, you come back with a boyfriend and it’s Loki of all people.”

“Careful Nat,” you smirk as you fill their champagne flutes. “You sound bitter.”

She rolls her eyes, “I enjoy my independence thank you very much.”

“I know I’ve kept certain things a mystery and that will remain that way for some time, but I am sorry for most things that you said Natasha, but not all.”

“Apology accepted,” Wanda answers.

“Close enough,” Nat shrugs. “Apology accepted.”

“Good, now please eat up,” you tell them as you motion to the plates in front of them. “I went through the greatest trouble of making breakfast.”

You hide your smirk as you drink your mimosa watching as they both take bites from their breakfast burrito. There’s a distinct crunch which captures them by surprise. They chew through it and eventually swallow.

“This is really good,” Wanda answers with a tight smile noticing now the smirk on your face. “What-uh-exactly is in it?”

“Egg, chorizo, avocado, some cheese...”

“But there’s a crunch,” Wanda states. “What’s the crunch?”

“Oh, that might be something I thought we should try out,” you explain as you turn towards one of the pan on the stove. “I had it when I was traveling in Thailand and it is so environmentally friendly.”

“You didn’t,” Natasha exclaims, spitting out the second bite she just took.

“See for yourself,” you say as you lift the lid revealing the crispy scorpions and spiders.

Wanda is quick to scream and gag while Natasha’s face goes stone cold. They’re quick to abandon their plates as they run towards the nearest bathroom.

You refill your glass of mimosa as Loki comes strolling into the kitchen.

“Well everything seems to have gone as planned.”

“Oh yes,” you answer as you pick up one of the discarded breakfast burritos and take a bite of your own. “If only they knew, I filled these with tortilla chips and not insects.”

Loki laughs and presses a kiss on your temple.

“So devious, darling,” he whispers. “So very devious.”

After your successful prank to Nat and Wanda, an obstacle arose in trying to catch the super boys off guard. They knew they were next and their paranoia knew no bounds. Part of you was tempted to leave them in suspense for an immeasurable amount of time but you had a plan and you weren’t going to let it go to waste.

So if Steve and Bucky weren’t going to come to you, then the solution would be to take the war to them. It was convenient in the end as the training room was just the place you wanted them to be in.

You watched as they spared against each other. With Bucky’s metal arm, Steve had no other choice but to have his shield to even the odds. They were so focused with one another that you slipped into the room with Tony’s control pad.

“Hi boys,” you greet them as you cut the music. “You’ve been avoiding me.”

Steve and Bucky look at you warily.

“Come on, don’t look at me like that!”

“We’ve apologized,” Steve states as he tucks his shield onto his back. “Whatever you’re planning, knock it off.”

“I never accepted your apology,” you point out to him. “So no I will not.”

“Doll, we really meant no harm,” Bucky insisted.

“Well, maybe I do.”

You’re quick to send a command on the control pad and watch as Bucky and Steve fly towards the wall. They groan as they make contact before you press the release causing them to slump to the ground.

“What in the hell was that?” Bucky mutters as he rolls his metal arm.

“Magnetic field,” you answer simply. “A very strong one to handle the both of you.”

“How did you even get that programmed?”

“Oh, I outsourced this part of my plan,” you explain. “Tony hated his honeymoon being disrupted but was very game into fucking with both of you.”

“Ok, ok, we get it now,” Steve surrenders. “You are not to be messed with.”

“I’m glad you learned your lesson,” you acknowledge. “But just to make sure…”

You press another command and send it through watching as Steve and Bucky are sent flying to the ceiling before you turn it off. They don’t get a chance to get up as your second command has them stuck on the floor. Bucky tries to wretch his arm off while Steve tries to wiggle his shield off his back.

You watch for a few seconds more before you turn off the command for good.

“Apology accepted boys.”

poison & wine: @damalseer @just-the-hiddles @jessiejunebug @nonsensicalobsessions @smollest-soybean @assassinoftheworld @doyoufeelikeayounggod @i-dont-know-eiither @day-dreaming-fox @bn-studies @devilbat @victor-criss-bish @musicconversedance @baby-bunnyxn @marvelloonie @queenmuahaha @accio-boys @eternalqueensworld @rogerrhqpsody @justnerdystuffs @hanoi15 @oneprolificqueen @fandomrelative @nikki419ninja @onedollarduck @ephemeraljade @captainmarvelnerd @justbeyondtheuniverse @ddaeing @leftperfectionmoon @lmfaohader

Loki Tag: @unicorniorosacomefrutillas @thesilentbluesparrow-blog @oddly-drawn-muse @josiehosiedaninja @hp-hogwartsexpress @sadwaywardkid @wolf-lover74 @sizzlingbarbarianglitter @sigyn-nightshade @aoirohi @just-a-donut-who-reads @day-dreaming-fox @heykathchuu @is-it-madness @writingletterstothefire @nonsensicalobsessions @help-i-need-a-social-life

All Works: @jmb959 @astudyoftimeywimeystuff @hellocookiecutter @steve-rogers-personal-hell-blog @buckybarnesyard @not-zari-tak @strangersstranger @thefridgeismybestie @badhollandfluff @what-a-flammable-heart @fandoms-allovertheplaceace @polireader @hufflautia

#loki x reader #loki x ofc #loki x oc #loki x original female character #avengers au #poison & wine extra #p&w #loki fanfiction #loki fic #loki #prince loki #loki of asgard #loki odinson #Loki Laufeyson #poison & wine

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blankdblank · 11 months

Text

Protego Pt 15 - April Fools

Masterlist here

...

“I believe it best you graduate early,” Minerva said after they’d gone to talk to her about this for advice.

“I, have to leave?”

“I will say this, seventh year is notoriously hard, and by the dates you have given you are due in April, two months before NEWTS are sat for. Now early graduation does not negate your place to sit for those exams, merely you would be more relaxed and not having to traipse up and down enchanted staircases every day for months while you should be resting to prepare for baby. I myself will weekly check in on you, and should you wish it Sirius you can graduate early too, there have been instances where students were required to graduate and could move into internship jobs in the Ministry until the NEWTS are taken and they can progress into the Auror program. By then you could have sat for all the evaluation exams and have a foot up so to speak on those who graduate regularly.”

While plans seemed to line up well with professors ready to help them graduate by the holiday break Lily seemed to be a hard nut to crack, not having talked to Jewels after not being the first to be told. Letters home did warn the Evans parents and Petunia, who while shocked, was sympathetic that a means of birth control failed and now he was stepping up to the plate. Even going so far as to send a heart warming bundle of bridal magazines to help with any details she might be able to.

On a steady diet and vitamin regimen once she’d handled the deflating task of stepping down from the Quidditch team she’d simply left the other students to speculate about her health as to why she was now graduating early after her fainting spell. A giddy utterance from the Bloody Baron, who checked in on her however, had the Slytherin students elated at the news of a new child for Sirius’ line and whoever the adopted heir of Slytherin hailed from.

Narcissa and Lucius were first to share they would be nearby in London on the holiday break, clearly gunning for an invite as many other students tried to get to just be present at the imagined wedding of the century.

All the same amongst the work load a trip to a Midwife was arranged and anxiously Jewels and Sirius sat with hands locked in the waiting room after having filled it the paperwork under the watch of a House Elf who brought them from Hogwarts for the morning appointment. “Jewels Evans?” Up from the floor her anxious steady brilliantly green eyes rose to meet those of the former Molly Prewett who smiled at her with hands on her own belly.

“Molly Prewett.” At the wedding band in her finger she asked, “Or, not, anymore?”

“Weasley,” she answered with a smile and sat down in the chair beside Jewels stating, “Hello Sirius, my Arthur had to work. Just got hired as an assistant in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office after his apprenticeship last summer. When are you due?”

“April,” she answered widening Molly’s smile.

“Mine as well, three boys already at home with my mother in law so I could get a moment to breathe, won’t get much of that from April on. Twins.”

“Just the one, I believe,” Jewels answered in an anxious tone making Molly pat her arm sweetly in a comforting gesture.

“I was more than nervous my first time around. Have you graduated yet?”

“Not yet, we take our NEWTS on schedule and they’re letting us skip ahead, to get out early so we can prep.”

Sirius said, “My Mum surely will put me back on an allowance and we’ve got the rental we share with Reg and the guys until we find a more suitable place.” He smiled and stroked the back of Jewels’ hand, “Hopefully somewhere near to the theater troupe for my Jewels here.”

“I have an aunt who was a dancer, the traveling will be fun for you. Babies shockingly travel well at least as long as you are moving. It’s when you try to stop and put them down for the night where the trouble comes in. But a nice bath and they will be off to bed for you two to breathe until morning.”

Jewels chuckled and stroked her belly saying, “I’m so glad we ran into you. Everyone else we’ve seen some here on our last visit looked at us like we were fresh out of primary school. Even after seeing my ring.”

“Oh you will come into your age. The pregnancy glow does tend to add to a youthful tilt on us young mothers.” Her smile widened and she said, “We can coordinate our next appointment and have lunch after. You can pop by the Burrow and kick your feet up and I can share some tips you won’t find in any book. And maybe some spare knitting for your little one,” widening Jewels’ smile.

“Just show her your eyes, she simply can’t refuse.” Sirius hummed softly to Jewels, having revealed the front of the Grimmauld Place entrance of his parents’ home with a loving grin and pat of a hand on her still mostly toned belly yet to show sign of her second trimester. Purple to green those telling eyes beyond the door with the knocker to announce guests let them in to be presented by Kreacher to Orion and Walburga Black, who instantly moved to have the notable relative with surely the cleanest line to Slytherin settled upon the best loveseat beside their eldest son.

True she was adopted by Muggles, and surely interactions at the elopement with them would be tedious. Two sisters could be tolerable for a truly acceptable union for their son who they had assumed to have been straying entirely from the path. “Grandfather,” Sirius spoke aloud and stood to be greeted by Arcturus Black who had come through the adjoining door the Black Family mansion connected. His inherited hidden property connected to all residences linked to the clan including a few Malfoy properties now bound in the marital contract between Lucius and Narcissa penned for their future wedding date.

“My birth father is Morfin Gaunt, only I don’t exactly know who my mother is, we can’t seem to uncover her name for all we’ve tried. Did find I have a cousin, but apparently he’s the Half-Blood posing as a Pure-Blood in his war against Muggles.” Wide eyed with a hand over her lips she looked to Sirius, who only just now realized the golden seam accented teacup she had been given for his mother’s offer of a calming drink. One to help spill the tea usually offered to guests the Sacred 28 often wished to know more about. A move now the Witch halfway inched to regretting as the whole effort of the war she wished to push her sons into was based on fraud.

“That usurping little Half-Blood!” she was heard shouting in her storm out of the room while Sirius finished off his cup to pour her tea into his cup so she could keep drinking without force of more secrets from her lips.

Orion leaned forward luring Jewels’ eyes to him as he said to Sirius, “Defense of the line of Gaunt, very admirable. Had we known we would not have pushed Regulus above you. I would presume there is a plot afoot?”

“I had to keep Jewels unknown to him.” Sirius answered to Jewels’ try at a calming sip of tea from his mug. “He killed her parents.”

Arcturus stated plainly, “Your child shall inherit my home.” In reaction to the sudden offer she tried not to choke or spit out the tea and Sirius’ eyes snapped wider his grandfather’s way. “The papers shall be drafted up by the date of the wedding, we should go now, I will show you the garden young dear,” he said and moved around the table to offer her a hand. For a personal help up and walk to tour the grounds of his hidden home that even under snow was breath taking.

“Oh,” she whispered in awe turning around at the snowy hedge maze and fountain decorated cobbled pathways with destinations hidden by snow.

“You may have your ceremony here, I will assure the ballroom is prepared for the reception.” That had her eyes move off the mountains surrounding the bubble hidden mansion.

Sirius at the next plume of breath leaving her lips said, “There are warming charms that can encircle the ceremony outside if you didn’t want tents, we have tents, if you want them.”

Up at Arcturus she asked, “You don’t mind us getting married here?”

“Jewelia, this is to be the finest match of our family history. To not allow you to marry here would not be just an insult to our lines but to your unborn child. We must display full support beyond reproach to all in attendance. But first, Kreacher should have fetched Regulus by now and we shall commune with the stars to know to ready for a son or daughter. For both require certain steps to honor within the ceremony.”

A daughter, more weight to leave the house to her as the female heirs of the Black Family line were tied already to notable lines and were promised properties from those lines to include them into the fold. Sirius would be welcomed back into a small fortune to ensure no risk of discomfort or hunger as well as a few properties under strict terms of always ensuring Regulus would have a place in the properties should he require it.

One of the properties being a cottage in Godric’s Hollow Sirius and Regulus took her next to tour so they could set up home. Close enough to the theater and where her family could visit with ease and not seem out of place. A bit of furniture and paint would join the gifted house warming items from loved ones to fill up their needs inside this quaint place they now called their own.

The space very much needed as Andromeda and Ted had adjusted their house now packed with things for their daughter they hoped to be ready for anything with. Even Severus felt a bit uneasy coming back to the basement apartment and took up the offer of Sirius to rent out the three story town home he now had possession of to share with Regulus, who did not want to crowd the new couple in their new cottage. Three stories, that after finding his parents had just taken off one day in the first semester of this year and left without word or any sort of funds or property to him he was beyond grateful for some form of stability with the ten year lease agreement they signed for Severus.

From first night in the new place to first morning routines and breakfast before heading off for the day the couple seemed ready to take their new future on. Complete with use of the cow creamer and duck pitcher they made on their first date. Three days a week Sirius would be accepted to intern in the Ministry come January and could spend the rest of the time at the theater with his future wife. From finances to even future schooling questions, if they happened to have a Squib, much was discussed while the wedding seemed squared away with a visit to talk it all out with her parents.

“Jewels?” Sirius asked his silver eyed fiancé in her place at the chair beside their bed writing in her dream journal, just one word to fill the page beside a sketch of what anyone would take as a self portrait.

Knelt down at her feet his hands on her thighs snapped her out of the trance to look at him then to the book on her lap. “Oh,” she let out in slight confusion. “Suzsieanne, sounds pretty.” And looked at him again in his comforting nod.

“Bad dream?”

“No,” shaking her head she added, “Odd, I don’t remember. I always remember. Do you think, it’s a family name? From my mother?”

“Could be. Our family tend to have longer names, not the usual one middle name, we could use it there,” he wet his lips and her brow arched up.

“What?”

Breathily he chuckled, “Out of habit I have done the star charts, our little girl will be born under Pluto, could we make that as a middle name as well?”

“Pluto is pretty cute,” she said making him smile wider. “I say we keep it.”

Long sleeved sheer lace and diamond appliqué on the top half, the wedding gown certainly made a statement even without the poofy bell skirted white furry layers for the bottom half, accented by firefly like glimmering diamonds inside the fur and the sheer appliqué veil secured by the furry top hat. The hat, while a new tradition came from what was known of older Gaunt lines to try and respect those ancestors. Sirius in his white dress robes also decorated by fireflies out of glimmering diamonds joined the nod to one of their first dates when they were swarmed by them.

A symbol scattered throughout the ballroom as well for the food and music filled celebration select members of his family mingled as respectfully as possible with hers. Joined by friends from both the theater troupe, the Weasleys with their three young boys, Severus, Remus, Peter, Alastor, Flitwick, Minerva and Hagrid. To help fill her side so his would not be so abundant in comparison.

Petunia up at her side beamed in being her Maid of Honor. Lily sat speaking to James, who she insisted be able to come or she wouldn’t, calm even in the onset of worries for the three girls who learned the poorly area they grew up in now had both of their parents with deteriorating health. But for tonight under the light of a sparkler accented phoenix ice sculpture candelabra Albus had sent as a gift in return for his invitation while he was required to travel unable to make it.

A special night to carry on into a second wedding, also during the holiday break, Petunia and Vernon inside their own dream wedding prized their own day, this time with Jewels as Maid of Honor for her sister in return. Dressed in a knee length white strapless dress topped by black and white butterfly wings layered beautifully over the top, one shoulder with a black feathery accent, and onto the voluminous skirt visibly mostly made of tulle. A hint to her dress that was an off the shoulder lace simple dress Jewels had helped to accent with crystal butterflies stitched carefully into the design to truly be one of a kind.

Her ceremony being specifically arranged at a simple request of Vernon, who after being insulted by James at their first meeting chose the more welcoming of sisters to be part of the ceremony that had Lily on the verge of ruining the day out of spite. But in a talk with Petunia the week before she did come to understand as to why she was not allowed to stand up with her sisters.

She understood, but it still hurt, and when it came down to her own future wedding plans she tried to not let the sting make her act harshly against both of her sisters for neither picking her. Sweetly however James kept laying it on thick to distract with talk of better times back at Hogwarts that now neither sister can take part in. Which made Remus huff and hang his head back in hearing this isolating tactic for the sister who really didn’t need to feel alone after returning as the only unwed sister of three in school alone.

“Twelve hemlines, five embroidered fish and an army of brass buttons,” Jewels said with a smile emptying out an enchanted bag of the costumes she had taken home to finish over her last short shift at the theater. Needlework, calligraphy for poster and props and such were her bread and butter these days. Tending to get nauseous terribly easy requiring bouts on the floor to even out again, a role right now above the seated one that had her confined to a wheeled chair as an ailing heiress they worked into the script was the most accommodating way the troupe kept her doing what she loved.

When she might feel a bit embarrassed to force them to put in so much change to the script the whole cast made it abundantly clear this role was hers from the start no matter the accommodation to ensure she could be the one to bring it to life. So with a blanket or conveniently placed muff her growing belly was shielded for the most part while the audience got to prize what was known to be the only role for this starlet until after her maternity leave was through. All the same she loved it, her final role before everything changed, one her newest friend Molly was in the audience on a date night for to share a supper with their husbands afterwards.

Thick as thieves the pair hit it off. Close enough between the Burrow and cottage that weekly a few meetings could be managed to both ready for their births. A bond that would carry over as both women already halfway gone to labor arrived at the Midwife’s sharing a delirious chuckle at the timing.

“Lily!” A hand in the dark stirred the Evans girl from her sleep to find Minerva in candle lit glow who said to explain the wake up call. “It’s time.”

“What time?”

“For the baby.”

“Is it born yet?” she whined and said, “I won’t be-,”

“Lily Evans you get your back side out of this bed or so help me I will make you sleep on hot coals for the rest of the year. Get up! Your sister needs all the support she can get!” Clothes from her trunk flew at the girl’s face and she could only huff and grumble her way to get ready so she could be taken by Minerva out to the main courtyard where she found Remus dressed but shivering in the brisk morning breeze.

“Remus, why are you here?” Lily asked and he shrugged.

“Long as I don’t have to hold a foot I will fetch whatever they need.” He answered and let out a large yawn, taking hold of the portkey a man who arrived offered between the trio who were then off. Soon to see Regulus, who had been brought half asleep by Kreacher, now wide eyed in the cold air in his pajamas confused but soon excited as the reasoning clicked.

....

You can continue reading on ao3 here - From here the Anaticula series picks up. Hoped you liked the mini series and do let me know what you thought if you feel inclined. Doubt I’ll be continuing to double post on here for the rewrite, or if I change my mind once it’s all rewritten or whatnot. But there is tons of fun ahead in the series and no shortage of drama. :) Happy Reading.

Link to the original version where my oc/Fred/George are born onwards still on tumblr, none of the new stuff but all of the original story you guys know. :)

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tokusmuts · 2 years

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Well I was wondering if you can make a Ayuri Kono x Marie Iitoyo x Reader Threesome smut, with lots of lesbian action and this may be a bit extreme but if you can maybe add a lot of foot fetish/worship where the two girls also have a fetish with each other’s feet

Okay, I finished it! So sorry for all the long delays but hope you can still enjoy it!

After a long time...

Characters: Ayuri Konno x Marie Iitoyo x Hidden Male Character

Category: Threesome, Foot fetish, lesbian, breastfeeding, anal sex,

P/s: This is the first time I write sex for foot so I cannot make sure if it's good or not

“Wanna have a competition to see who can swim 10 laps faster while waiting for him to come home, Marie?”

"I'll let you swim two laps first!"

"You're a bit overconfident, and you'll lose!"

"Let's see, sis!"

Ayuri and Marie, as usual, found temporary pleasures together while waiting for me to finish my work at the company, this time a swimming competition in my rather spacious indoor swimming pool. The two girls were swimming and playing as a way to relieve the heat outside. Ayuri is no longer in showbiz, so I have more time to have sex with her than Marie - an actress who is still involved in many projects, so whenever there is a chance, the two sisters are very happy together. Moreover, if it weren't for these occasions, I wouldn't have had the chance to make love to Marie. I'm still on my way home but watching the CCTV from the swimming pool, I can see that today will be a day when I will be able to work at full capacity with these two girls. Today they both chose red-pink tones for their bikinis but while Ayuri opted for a two-piece bikini, Marie opted for a simple bikini. But that doesn't matter because when I go to bed I will take them all off. Although Marie's time at home is very short, neither she nor I feel too fond of Marie thanks to Ayuri. Even though Ayuri is the sister, she is still a 25-year-old girl and only one year older than Marie, and her body is still very energetic and helps me to satisfy every night to back to work with Marie tomorrow morning. Speaking of Marie, I can only talk about when we had to do quickies at work. Fortunately, no one has noticed until now because Marie still needs to save face with her partner since I am still her manager, and even if they're all quickies, they're still enough for both of us to satisfy each other without having to make love properly when Marie still has a lot of schedules

Returning home after a long trip, I entered the house and still saw the two girls playing non-stop in the swimming pool. Both of them saw me and greeted me excitedly, if it was normal, I would also mingle with the two girls right now, but in this tired state, I have to eat and drink to regain my strength first. The two girls each got a towel out of the pool and then put on an oversized shirt to wait for dinner. After taking a shower, I rushed to cook dinner, and tonight's dinner was also quite fast because I was also more hungry than usual. The meal was just over when I got a call from Marie's partner (I'm still her manager, basically). After that, I went to the bedroom and took off all my clothes to prepare to take a shower, but still did not forget to tell the two girls who were still watching TV in the living room.

“You two will want to warm up before I get to work!”

Hearing my signal, the two girls happily ran straight into the room and then went to bed to give each other their first kisses. It seemed that the two of them had been waiting to do this for a long time, but because Marie was always busy, it had been a long time since they could kiss passionately like this again, moreover, they would groan together in a little later when I entered the game so they were more excited to kiss each other. Slowly two oversize shirts were also taken off and lying on the floor. Their hands began to caress each other's bodies, and while Marie stimulated Ayuri's cunt from outside the bikini, Ayuri couldn't stop massaging Marie's plump butt.

“You know where only you can make me moan the most, right?” - Ayuri said between kisses

“How could I forget, honey? But do you want me to go down there that soon?” - Marie looked at Ayuri affectionately

“We're warming up, so I want to moan soon so he will have to come out with us!” - Ayuri said god to Marie and turned her eyes towards the bathroom

Marie understood Ayuri's meaning but did not rush down there immediately, but kissed along Ayuri's body and then reached Ayuri's secret grave for Marie - her legs. Before marrying me, the two girls had attachments to each other's feet. So every time they make love, they stimulate each other's legs first to make the other unable to stand it any longer and then proceed to bring each other to orgasm. But Ayuri hadn't felt that way in a long time, so when the opportunity came, she wanted to do it as soon as possible. Marie even though she hasn't done this for a long time, is still too skilful, she starts with a lick along the soles of her feet that makes Ayuri's body twitch, then Marie takes care of each toe carefully one by one which made her start to let out soft moans

“Ah…that’s right, Marie…more…ah”

True to Ayuri's plan, those groans entered the bathroom and reached my ears. I was quite surprised that Ayuri was playing back so early, but obviously, these groans were just the beginning so I took a leisurely bath. In the bedroom, Marie still showed no signs of stopping while Ayuri was getting closer and closer to her limit. Ayuri's craving was getting closer and closer, and I didn't have to wait long for that moment

“Darling…ah…come out with us…ah…I can’t take it anymore…ah”

That's the sound I've been waiting for. My whole body is now clean and I don't use towels anymore but go to the bedroom with my naked body. I picked up Marie and pushed Ayuri down on the bed with Marie, I also lay between the two girls. I kissed Ayuri who was in a daze first and then turned to Marie. Then I put my hand behind Marie's back and unclip her bra, Marie's breasts were released so I couldn't wait any longer and went to suck them, feeling my wife's breasts after a long time is really different. Ayuri also took off her bra herself and brought her breasts close to my mouth, the offer was hard to refuse so I sucked on both nipples at the same time as they continued to exchange kisses. Ayuri's cunt was soaked in pink panties after her toes were cared for by Marie. And Marie, after her breasts were well cared for, began to moan and her cunt began to get wet. Ayuri's panties were easier to take off, so I crawled down and pressed my face against Ayuri's cunt first and coordinated with Marie to take off her panties. Above the two girls pulled each other into the next kiss which made my head stuck even more underneath. Ayuri's thighs clamped my head back so I could enjoy her cunt more while my fingers went inside Marie's cunt. Once the two lips parted, there were only continuous moans, two tones of groaning voices resounding throughout the room just as the two girls wanted. Even though I sucked on Ayuri's cunt every day, there was never a time when I didn't feel the urge to bury myself in it to be given that milky liquid by her. Her pussy, her ass, and her legs are the places where she can climax the fastest, and stimulating them is my favourite thing to do.

"Ayuri, let's shoot me in the mouth" - I said between sucks

“Yes…I can’t take it…ah...anymore...ah” - Ayuri said while being attacked by both Marie and me

Being attacked so hard, Ayuri could only groan and then spit the liquid continuously into my mouth, the sweet taste still inside the liquid. Even though Ayuri had just had an orgasm, she continued to suck on Marie's breasts, and I also turned to Marie's cunt and inserted 3 fingers inside Ayuri's cunt, so I also enjoyed her secretions. Marie has the same sweet taste, but since it's been a long time since I've tasted it, it feels like Marie's juice is better than Ayuri's. Above the two girls still couldn't stop kissing, so I inserted the fingers of my free hand into Marie's cunt and crept up to break the two girls' unfinished kiss and replace it with kisses. my alternate kiss.

“Now, which one of you wants to be filled first?” - I said but still didn't slow down my fingers in and out below

“Ah…Marie goes first…I think she looks like she's about to shoot…ah” Ayuri said between groans.

“That's right…ah…I'm not going to take it anymore…ah” - Marie continued

I put my dick inside Marie's cunt and started pushing hard. Marie's breasts bounced back and forth between thrusts which motivated me to push harder, I buried my face in Marie's breasts while Marie sucked on Ayuri's breasts. The room was now only for moans, the slap of flesh, and even the sounds of sucking lips. My cock's kicks were only getting faster and stronger, making both of them almost reach their limit.

“I'm going to cum Marie…ah” - I too have to moan at this wonderful pleasure

“Hurry up and fill me up, honey…Kimochi…ah” - Marie replied

So I shot into Marie, and the waves of sperm came rushing in like it was shot out of a six-barreled gun. Meanwhile, Ayuri couldn't take it anymore and shot more liquid into my hand and fell on the bed. I raised my hand and licked what Ayuri gave me with utmost enjoyment before I turned Ayuri's body around and lifted her hips.

"Now it's your turn to be filled, Ayuri!"

“Come on baby…ah…I want you so much!”

My cock, still covered with both my and Marie's fluid, was brought right into Ayuri's ass and I started to smack Ayuri hard, making her moan. Marie had just been filled so her whole body was exhausted, but when she was just lying there, I put my fingers in to continue to get more fluid from Marie, and the two girls continued to moan loudly. Marie then knelt with me and brought my head to her breast to suck her nipple. Ayuri's asshole has been a place I've filled her insides all along, but this time it will have to share rations with Marie. Even so, I shot inside just enough for Ayuri to fill up and let her lie there panting before turning and filling Marie's insides. It's been a long time since I've been able to cling to Marie's fragile body to be Doggy. I pounded Marie's ass while squeezing one of her breasts while Ayuri enjoyed the other. After filling up Marie, I tiredly lay down with the two girls, my mouth still couldn't leave the red and pink nipples.

#ayuri konno #今野鮎莉 #marie iitoyo #飯豊まりえ #toku smuts

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sxtaep · 1 year

Text

tw: medical malpractice, negligence, blood it is sososo late right now but i really need to get something off my chest

ever since june 2022, i’ve had this recurring cyst appear on my back which would generally disappear after taking a course of antibiotics but the only issue was the problem would persist on a monthly basis. it was at first east to manage, i was still physically able to go into work and live my life as normal, but around august it started getting a little harder but thankfully when it happened it august, i was on annual leave so i was able to rest on it for two weeks before returning to work.

when the cyst appeared in october, once again i was prescribed antibiotics however the pain was almost unbearable to the point i had to go to a&e and wait overnight to be seen by a doctor who only advised me to continue taking my antibiotics and also referred me for surgery, WHICH WAS SCHEDULED FOR FEBRUARY 2023 but it was useless since the cyst cleared up again after about two weeks.

come to december 8th, the cyst came back and i was ONCE AGAIN prescribed antibiotics (which didn’t do anything) and after a few days my condition worsened to the point where i woke up one morning (december 10th) unable to sit straight, stand straight, walk properly without hunching over and that’s when my mum forced me to go to a&e.

i was waiting there for hours until i was seen by the doctor who determined i’ll have to have surgery that evening and will be required to stay overnight and of course, my mum and i were completely unprepared for that so my mum was making trips back and forth from the hospital to gather my things for the overnight stay.

i was briefed on what the surgery would consist off and precautions to anaesthesia and so on and i went into surgery and came out safely. i felt no pain when i came out and everything was going well.

i stayed overnight and was given the all clear to be discharged the following day, and the nurse who was looking after me advised me on how often to take pain killers and my new course of antibiotics and she also stated i’ll have to make trips to my gp nurse everyday to have my wound dressing and packing changed.

the day after, i go to my doctors office and meet the nurse there, who i pretty much end up seeing everyday for three weeks and she pretty much cleans my wound, changes the stuffing in the wound and dresses the wound again.

it seemed things were looking up, the nurse said it was healing super fast and after my last appointment before new year’s eve, she said i could take off the dressing after 2 days and that’ll be it for treatment.

the next day after my final appointment however, i started feeling pain again, the pain was like how it was before i got surgery and it was super painful so i booked an emergency appointment with my nurse after new year’s day and turns out the area surrounding my wound was extremely inflamed and hot and red, so ONCE AGAIN, i was prescribed antibiotics to tackle it.

i thought that was all, up until wednesday january 4th, that morning i woke up feeling something set and damp on my back and i was super confused, so i called my mum and asked her to come and check on me so she came into my room and saw a ton of blood all over my bed and my back (looked like a murder scene) and i was thinking wtf where did this blood come from im not even on my period.

i called 111 asap and they directed me to the hospital and as it would turn out, my surgery wound burst while i was asleep due to poor care. apparently, the nurse at my doctors office didn’t stuff and dress my wound properly during those three weeks so only the top part of the wound healed and not the inside, now making the wound even more deeper than it already was.

i was told to complain or try and sue the nurse but i couldn’t, she was too sweet and i genuinely think it was an honest mistake she made in my recovery.

now my recovery time has increased to 6 months, now going back to making trips to the doctors office EVERYDAY to stuff and change my wound dressing and that shit HURTS SO BAD i don’t think i can continue doing this everyday.

i literally can’t remember what my life was like before all of this, i’ve been off work, less socialising, pain overpowers my attention and i can never sleep at night out of fear i’m going to hurt my back. i can’t walk outside without someone with me to hold onto (can’t walk properly, i can only waddle).

every time i think negatively about my situation, i always remind myself that there are people out there who have it so much worse than i do and i need to suck it up and deal with it.

i hope i will be better in the next couple weeks maybe months even because i can’t move as normally as i used to and it hurts physically.

things will get better i hope 😁

#irrelevant #ignore

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gwydionmisha · 1 year

Text

Personal: New GenZ Friend Arrived Safe

I had to stay up for a Thursday morning appointment to meet my new Doctor. He seems nice and we vibe okay so far. We just focused on blood work today. I'm going to go back once a month for the next three months to focus on one area each since my case file is basically the collected works of Thomas Aquinas in size and even with my beloved previous GP's help, no one can get up to speed all at once. It turned out we'd missed a test a couple of weeks ago and I needed an extra vial taken today. All of this took the whole morning for obvious reasons.

Which would have been fine except a very nice addition to the friemnd group was arriving today and the ride to go pick them up fell through. Techie Millenial called me and rightly so, so we went to pick them up. This is the person who visted around last Diwali and fitted in right away. Seriously, they are a delight and weren't safe in their state any more. Trans Overground railroad got them out and they have an apartment with a roomate I am told is cool lined up and are staying with Tecie and Art millenial for a week until they can move into new the new digs.

The problem is the pain situation has been escalating to the point where Extreme pain wakes me and then i have to figure out how to roll over with only 2/3rds of my body working and the "I just got run over by a bus" level pain involved in shifting positions, which does not make for restful sleep. This is the kind of pain able bodied people would be in the hospital for, but here I am at home trying to shuffle around and somehow feed myself and beasts. (hospital would be no good. I don't want a drug seeking note in my file and the kind of medication this would require would make me trip balls. It's a big risk, because people in my family with this reaction to opiods also respond this way to anti-psychotics. I've never tried them, but you get someone with extreme paranoia, another side effect of the opiod reaction, who is having an obvious psychotic break, they are apt to give them anti-psychotics, which is a viscious circle. It was lucky they summoned me to the east Coast my Mother's second to last time in the ICU or they would have shipped her to a psch ward instead of tapering her meds, at which point she was fine except for the whole lungs failing thing. New doctor wouldn't know to stop them and they might not listen to Techie Millenial who is Officially in Charge if I can't speak for myself. Note to self: Next month explain my weird inherited response to opiods to New Doctor). Before you start suggesting things, trust me, I've tried all the mitigation I can reasonably do. What I really need is accupuncture which I can't afford. Instead i just have to endure thisand keep chipping away until i'm back to my usual pain scale 6-7 which is a functional level of pain. This in not.

Bonus points? My right front break started to grind while I was taking Techie and new GenZ back to their place. I have no money except the gas money they slipped me and an emergancy tener for meds. (I have my food OTC left and no EBT even.) I've scheduled with honest Mechanic for May 1st. I can already see next month's bill money draining away, but that is a next month problem. Sigh.

Today would have been a great day to order delivery food. Instead I stood weeping in the kitchen because there was an electrical issue and the air fryer wouldn't work. (Squirrel solved it).

I am so glad we got GenZ out of that hell state though. They never knew how tense and constantly braced for attack they were until they came here. I know that feeling. My whole body used to relax whenever I crossed the Rockies and the PNW has felt like home since I first stepped off the train all those decade ago.

#Personal

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nikoadari · 1 year

Text

March 20

Dear Diary,

Ramon woke up Quiet this morning.

All of us are sitting by the little stream that runs past the house. Yasmine is sketching Ramon as he sits in the water – she’s been taking a big interest in drawing lately; seeing her be able to just sit down and focus on something she likes is such a relief – and Sol is meditating.

I have some of my library books with me and, of course, the journal I’m writing in now. It’s about time I start reading more of those books. The more I read, the more I become undecided about Sol. It doesn’t matter. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of time to figure it out now that Ramon has gone Quiet.

It’s the first time it’s happened on this trip…. I really hoped time away from the city, the daycare, whatever is triggering his Quiet phases, would make it disappear entirely, but I guess that was unrealistic. It usually happens once or twice a week, after all, and the last one was actually two weeks ago. The times between his Quiet phases gets longer when Sol comes to visit, so I suppose it’s right on schedule.

God, what’s wrong with him? I wish I knew. For all his knowledge, Sol doesn’t know the reason behind Ramon’s Quiet phases, either. He’s had the best doctors examine him; we’ve taken him to all different sorts of therapies and I even had him on Ritalin for a time to try to force it to stop.

It didn’t help, and after the third dose of that I threw it away; he hated how it made him feel. I’d hoped…I really hoped that this trip would be a changing point for my baby.

I’m starting to think he’s having strokes. Why else would he just stop functioning like that? All he does is breathe and blink. All it would take is one ill-intentioned daycare provider or teacher, and he wouldn’t be able to tell me what they did; he can’t remember much of anything that happens while he’s Quiet.

If someone forgets to feed him, he won’t say anything, and he won’t be fed all day! It will be a complete nightmare once he goes to school. I don’t know what I’ll do if he comes home bleeding because some brat thought it would be funny to throw things at him while he couldn’t run away or defend himself.

God, look at him now. He’s just staring at the water. His neck is fine, I’ve checked, but…no child should have eyes so dead!

Is this how it’s going to be forever?

What if there’s an emergency and he doesn’t come when called? What if–

Sol just left. I don’t know where – somewhere only he knows in the forest. He came out of his meditation and started speaking so suddenly that I almost dropped my pencil. He told me that he thought he could do something to help Ramon come out of his Quiet phase quickly, but that he wasn’t sure if it would work.

Of course I asked him what his plan was but he wouldn’t tell me! He just said that he had to leave for a while, but he wouldn’t be too far and that I should yell if I need him for something. Specifically, yell his name twice and then pick up Ramon and Yasmine and go inside. Also, unless I yell for him or until he comes back, none of us can go inside.

I have never wanted to curse him out so much in my life! What is this; a spell!? What the hell does that even mean?

I almost started to argue, but the way he was looking at me…it was so intense and serious, and I knew he wasn’t just being dramatic. He really did mean what he said, and as strange as his instructions were, I trust him with Ramon’s health.

I agreed, and he disappeared into the trees. It’s been a couple minutes now, and I haven’t heard anything since then. The kids are still– oh.

Yasmine just…fell asleep? She just slumped over, face in her sketchpad. Aw, that’s pretty cute.

Hm, she didn’t wake up or even stir when I turned her over. That’s odd. She isn’t that heavy a sleeper.

And she didn’t seem tired a minute ago…well, it is a warm day. It could make anyone want a nap. But Lord above, she’s less concerned with Ramon’s state than anyone else who knows. It makes sense; it’s been happening since he was thirteen months; she probably doesn’t remember a time her brother didn’t go Quiet.

It’s not that I want her to be nervous about it exactly. The fact that she can continue playing by herself or tries to include him in the play without making him move is wonderful. But still, I don’t want her to be used to it. I don’t want him to have this…illness? Condition? Whatever it is, I don’t want it!

I want Ramon to be a healthy boy. Is that too much to ask? I have so many things to do every day Sol isn’t here. I have bills to sort through, and a job, and shopping to do. Cleaning the house and cooking something semi-healthy, driving the kids to school, driving them to daycare, washing and folding clothes, taking pills, and work, work, work, work, work!

Why is this added to the pile? Why can’t he just be normal? Why can’t Yasmine be normal? It isn’t fair to blame the children, no…. Sol. Why can’t just have a semi-normal family for once, chosen a man who sticks around to help me all year, instead of just a few months? He–

Oh, my God!

Ramon just woke me up. He was patting my cheeks and calling “Mama?” and calling me a sleepyhead like nothing happened! What!?

There was no way I fell asleep on my own. No way! I wasn’t even drowsy! And I never would have left Ramon in the stream if I had started to feel tired!

And Ramon’s not Quiet anymore! I checked him all over to see if he was okay. He’s still wet, but otherwise fine. He isn’t even sluggish like he normally is after coming out of a Quiet phase. Yasmine’s woken up, too. She looks sullen.

Oh. Well, apparently she wasn’t done drawing him but now he’s moved, therefore ruining her artwork. God, this child…wait.

Sol hasn’t come back.

I asked Ramon if he saw or heard anything strange before he stopped being Quiet, even though I knew it was a long shot he remembered even a fuzzy memory.

To my surprise, he said he saw a green light facing around in front of him. He heard laughter, too. He thought it was Yasmine but she fell asleep before I did, so it couldn’t have been her.

That’s just like what happened at the river…that laughter! I knew it! Something magical is going on here, and I’m going to find out what it is if it’ll be the death of me.

I was going to call Sol like he told me to, but the way he said it – so serious and almost…nervous? – makes me think that the call was only meant for emergencies. Nothing bad has happened, exactly, but it’s been a while. Like half an hour? And who knows how long we were out for.

The kids are splashing each other with the water; I made them sit down just in case they get tired again. Was that the effects of the magic? Ramon didn’t fall asleep. At least, not that I can tell.

Why did it make Yasmine and me fall asleep and not Ramon? Why would it put us to sleep in the first place? So we wouldn’t see the “green light” Ramon talked about? Lord, he’s not even concerned about it. He said he could “think again” after he heard the light and saw the laughter. God, my poor baby….

I’ve been trying to find some sort of answer in these books, but it’s useless!

The only thing I could find even remotely similar is putting some type of magic into food, and then feeding it to some naïve human. We haven’t eaten anything especially strange. We just…fell over, seemingly out of nowhere.

At least hearing tiny voices or laughter or music is common, but there’s nothing about green light right in front of you!

This has to be Sol’s doing. What did he even do?? Why isn’t he back yet?

I asked the kids if they knew, just in case, and they both shook their heads. Instead, Ramon started complaining, saying he was too hot and wanted his hat. I almost went inside the house to get it before both Ramon and Yasmine both began shouting that I couldn’t go.

I completely forgot about Sol’s warning…but wait.

I know Yasmine was close enough to hear what her father said, but Ramon never remembers much about when he’s Quiet, so he shouldn’t know. The magical stuff was probably due to it being, you know, magic. I asked him how he knew we weren’t supposed to go inside, and he looked down.

He mumbled that he just “had a feeling.” Yasmine nodded like she had a feeling, too. I don’t have this feeling, and I would have gone into the house if they hadn’t stopped me. That’s…concerning.

Okay, okay. I need to keep it together. The kids shouldn’t see their mother panicking.

I poured some of the creek water on Ramon’s head. Enough to get through his baby afro. It’s not a perfect solution, but it will have to do for now.

I asked them if they had any other “feelings” since they got here. Like the fish Yasmine had tried to chase. She said that she had “really wanted to catch it. Really, really wanted it.”

Okay, then.

“I wanted it even more than I want a horsey!” she said. “Uh, but…I still want a horsey….”

God, ever since we showed her that Black Beauty movie, she’s been begging for a horse of her own; they’ve become her new favorite animal. Where would we put said animal? She doesn’t know, but she wants one. Kids.

She said she didn’t hear anything when she saw the fish; she just knew it was “the best fish ever.” I don’t even know what to do with that.

I asked them both if they heard anything at the other river where Sol and I taught them how to swim. I’d hoped that they had heard the laughter then, too, but they hadn’t. Instead they brought up last night.

Ramon said he saw something in the fire. He saidit looked like “tiny people dancing to Daddy’s music.”

It’s not a demon. It’s not a demon, don’t go there….

Yasmine said she didn’t see anything in the fire, but that she saw someone – not something, but someone – watching them all from a tree. She said that it didn’t look like any person she’d seen before; its eyes were all black and huge, and its face was really pale, like drawing paper.

I asked her why the actual heck she hadn’t said anything, and she said the person was “just there to listen to the music.” WHAT!? When I asked her how she knew that, she got quiet, like she didn’t actually know how she knew that. She is getting such a lecture later on assuming intentions!

I had to call Sol. I had to. I yelled his name twice like he said, picked up the kids, and went straight inside the house. Thank God there’s nothing strange inside.

We’re sitting in the living room now, and I’ve covered the windows. The children don’t seem worried. They’ve been trying to calm me down like I’m the one acting crazy here! They– this is insane. This is actually insane! This can’t be real!

People are watching us?? How did I not notice? Does Sol know? He couldn’t. He would have told me! But Yasmine asked me a question. She sounded so confused, like she genuinely didn’t understand.

She asked why I’m scared of these other people when I’m not scared of Daddy.

I thought I was gonna pass out. I had to ask her what she meant by that just to make sure and she just looked at me and said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, “Daddy can do magic, too.”

I knew it.

The door! It’s…Sol.

He’s back.

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wenevergotusedtoegypt · 2 years

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It is A Day for medical frustrations, let me tell you.

I still haven’t heard back from the midwives. Every time I called up til 11:45 I still got their “the office is closed, if this isn’t an emergency call back during office hours” message. I finally asked my husband if he had time to look up the numbers for their other office locations and see if any of those were reachable, cuz I didn’t have time to keep calling constantly while I’m in the office today. B”H he at least got ahold of someone at one of the other offices, but now I’m waiting til ???? for a midwife to actually bother to call me back. It has been a WEEK since the initial concerns were brought up, and all they’ve managed to do in that time is rule out the possibility that I have a UTI. Meanwhile I’ve still had these weird little headaches all but 2 out of the past 8-9 days. The next investigative step is supposed to be a 24 hour urine collection, which will ostensibly involve needing to pick up the necessary materials from somewhere not particularly convenient (either their office or a lab; either way not convenient) and then dropping it back off at said inconvenient location a day or 2 later, and my husband’s semester starts tomorrow morning so he’ll be less available to help out with that. I cannot. This is ridiculous.

Meanwhile I was supposed to have an appointment with my endocrinologist next week Thursday. She’s across state lines, and it’s a huge schlep to get there. During the first part of the pandemic when telehealth regulations were loosened, I was able to do virtual appointments, but now she’s legally not allowed to do telehealth across state lines, so I have to come in. At my last appointment I scheduled this one for June 6th, which I later realized was Shavuos. I called back WEEKS AGO to change the appointment. They offered me June 23 and I asked if there was anything at all sooner because I didn’t want to deal with the commute at 32 weeks pregnant. They then looked again and offered me June 9 at 4:30pm. I have documentation of this whole conversation in the form of sending my husband whatsapps about it immediately after I got off the phone.

I’m due for thyroid labs next week, so I messaged my endocrinologist today asking if we would do the labs at the appointment or I should arrange to do them at the outside lab I otherwise go to. She said, “oh, you’re next appointment isn’t until June 23rd, so do them at the lab.” I called her office and was told that June 23rd was in fact in the system. When I explained the whole story of my rescheduling, the lady told me that my doctor does have an appointment at 4:30 on June 9 but it’s with someone else, not me. I was offered June 7 at 4:30, which I initially thought was still Shavuos, June 8 at 9am, which I couldn’t do because my husband will be leaving for class at 8:45 and my son’s daycare doesn’t start til 9:00, and June 15 at 10am, which I also could not actually do because of the same childcare issue but chose to take because what else was I supposed to do.

Minutes after I got off the phone, I realized that June 7 is Isru Chag, not Shavuos, and while my son doesn’t have daycare due to Isru Chag, my husband doesn’t have class, so it wouldn’t be an issue. I called right back to move the appointment and was told that in the literally less than 10 minutes since I was offered that appointment, someone else had taken it. 🤦🏻‍♀️ The receptionist said she would message my doctor to see if she could squeeze me in at some other time that is sooner rather than later but not first thing in the morning, so now I’m waiting to hear back. So mad at whoever I spoke to when I originally rescheduled who confirmed June 9 to me verbally but put June 23 into the system.

The only bright side is that at least I bothered to check about the labs with my doctor, or else I would have traveled like 4 hours round trip to discover I didn’t actually have an appointment. 🙃 Pretty sure I would’ve literally had a meltdown in the waiting room.

EDIT: The endocrinologist office just called back and the lady was like “the doctor says you should keep your June 15 appointment but she can always call you to go over your labs before then.” OMGsh THAT WASN’T THE PROBLEM. I get labs done every 2-3 weeks during pregnancy and she always follows up either through the patient portal or a phone call. I was not remotely worried that I was going to have to wait too long to hear about my lab results and that’s literally not a concern I expressed in any way whatsoever at any point during the original conversation with the receptionist?? The issue is that I physically don’t know how I’m going to get there because I would need to leave by 8am, my husband would need to leave by 8:45am, and we have no childcare til 9am.

#babyjournal 2.0

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briamichellewrites · 1 year

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Rob was in a better mental state when he arrived the next morning. He had taken a nap when he got home. Even though it messed up his sleep schedule for forty-eight hours, he didn’t mind because he was tired. He made himself dinner when he woke up before spending the rest of the night re-reading his favorite book. When he got to work, he thanked Mike, Phoenix, and Brad for listening to him. What did he end up doing? They were thrilled to hear about his night. He should do that more often.

His anxiety was likely due to a lack of sleep and not taking care of himself. Yeah, he should. He went over to his drum set and sat down before getting everything he needed from his book bag.

Brie wasn’t feeling well on the plane ride back to LA, so she slept after getting herself comfortable. Paris had been delightful! She hoped she would be able to buy the apartment. While going through security, she was scared of the possibility of being caught with drugs in her carry-on. The airport employed dogs to sniff for drugs and one of them came very close to her stuff. Brad also noticed it and he stopped breathing for what felt like forever. Thankfully, the dog didn’t sense anything unusual.

That was too close! They boarded the plane with their carry-on bags while their luggage was being loaded into the plane’s cargo hold. Their breathing was back to normal as they fastened their seatbelts. It would be a long eleven and a half hours before they would be back in Los Angeles. When she woke up, he asked her how she was feeling. Better. She didn’t feel as nauseous.

When she got home, she would rest before visiting Planned Parenthood to get a new birth control implant. He asked about that and how it worked. Though he knew about birth control pills, he had never heard about the implant. She couldn’t take the pills because of her ADHD. They had to be taken at the same time every day and she couldn’t trust herself to remember to take them. The implant worked in the same way the pills did, except she didn’t have to remember anything for up to four years.

She was on it before she married Mike. There were other options but she chose the implant. It was just more convenient for her and there was a one percent chance of getting pregnant while using it. He liked the sound of that. The less chance of her getting pregnant, the better. Especially if she continued using drugs. He didn’t want to find out she had given birth to a baby while under the influence.

He had grown up in the eighties during the crack cocaine epidemic. There were hundreds of stories of babies being born under the influence. They had to go through withdrawal and their little bodies couldn’t handle it, so they cried constantly and couldn’t be easily consoled. They also had low birth weight, inability to suck, and other lifelong problems. It wasn’t fair to them. He didn’t want that to happen to her because he knew she would never forgive herself.

They continued talking while enjoying lunch. He felt he got to know her better during their trip to Paris. The week went by quickly. He wanted to make her his girlfriend but that wouldn’t be appropriate. I love you. That was the first time he said it. He meant it, too. She was more than just a hookup. He considered her a friend, who accepted him for who he was. She was never impressed by fame.

She didn’t care that he was Brad Pitt the movie star and she never did. He was her former neighbor, a friend, and someone she could joke about with. That was wonderful because he could be himself. He wished she hadn’t moved away but life happened.

I didn’t get back until around three in the morning and I went straight to bed. I just woke up lol. Anyway, I’m at home. – Brie

Phoenix thanked her for letting him know. He hadn’t heard from her all morning, so he was relieved to know she was safe. Her explanation made sense. He would also want to get as much sleep as possible after a long plane ride. Since the babies were still fighting a cold, neither he nor Mike was getting much sleep. They were feeling a little better earlier that morning, so they were hopeful by the end of the week, they would be back to normal.

Keith was in town, so he asked to meet her somewhere. She gave him her address and asked if he needed to be picked up. No, he had a car. He was excited but a little nervous about seeing her. Nicole had caught him with another woman in Nashville, so she kicked him out. He flew to Los Angeles because he needed to see her. It had been a while. The last time, she had been pregnant.

He kept up to date on what she was doing through her Instagram account. She had given birth to twins, was going through a divorce and her husband had come out as gay. That was all he knew. Yeah, she gave him the full update when he arrived. She was going through a very amicable divorce and was going to sign custody over to her husband and his boyfriend. Why? Because she was going through mental health issues. They didn’t think it was fair to her babies to have an emotionally unavailable mother.

“We have to get divorced for them to get custody. The biological father is also going to file for custody, so it will be the three of them.”

“Do you have postpartum depression?”

“I have postpartum bipolar disorder, on top of anxiety and depression. After my diagnosis, we decided to sign custody over to them so I can work on my mental health and be selfish.”

“What about your husband? He came out as gay?”

Yeah, he was outed publicly by Perez Hilton. They were so angry and upset about that. He kept his life private and he didn’t want the whole world to know he was gay. She asked him if she could post something and he said it was okay. What she wanted to post was filled with f-bombs, but she thought about how that would affect him. So, she kept it classy. He laughed.

He told her about being caught by Nicole. That was why he needed to see her. She didn’t judge him and he needed a friend to talk to. Even though she didn’t like cheating, she recognized that was hypocritical because she had been with men who were married. It wasn’t up to her to judge them. Thank you. He kissed her cheek. That led to her getting up and standing in between his legs. He pulled her closer before she bent down and kissed him. After getting on the bed, she straddled him and he kissed her neck.

He needed to unwrap her and feel her body next to his. She was underneath him and he was moving inside her. He took his time to feel and memorize her body. She heard him whisper in her ear and compliment her body. It wasn’t what it was before getting pregnant. She used the cream but it didn’t erase the stretch marks as quickly as she wanted it to. Did she still feel unattractive?

Yeah, she did. She still felt ugly when she looked at herself in the mirror. Being with a man was the only way she felt attractive. After finishing, he pulled out and laid down beside her. She turned to look at him. He kissed her before getting up and going into the bathroom. She decided to also get up and get dressed. When he came out, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders before kissing her forehead. Could he stay with her? Yeah, he could. Thank you.

They decided to get something to eat because it was close to dinner time. His phone was going off with Nicole wanting to know where he was. The first thing she thought about was him getting drunk somewhere because he was a recovering addict. No, he was in Los Angeles staying with a friend. He was sober. She didn’t believe him because he had disappeared and had flown across the country to visit a friend.

I’ll call you later. – Keith

@zoeykaytesmom @feelingsofaithless @alina-dixon @fiickle-nia @boricuacherry-blog

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steamishot · 1 year

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xmas 2022 pt 2

on the day after xmas, i called carnival cruise who told me that we are unable to embark on the cruise from cozumel and proceeded to cancel our ticket because there was no way we could make it to nola in time. we were refunded only the taxes & fees, as well as the price for our chichen itza excursion. currently we have to pay our cruise ticket price (~$1800 for two) as a penalty fee. NY state has a regulation where we are unable to utilize carnival’s refund if we did not buy travel insurance from the cruise company. i’m hoping that amex can come to the rescue with trip cancellation insurance. as the department is out of office today, i should have an answer tomorrow.

we cancelled our very expensive business class ticket to cancun right after we were told that embarkment was impossible. out of desperation and emotions, matt was willing to pay $3k for the tickets if that meant he could cruise with his family.

after a 4 hour hold on the phone with delta the day after xmas, they issued me a $250 voucher for the inconvenience of missing the cruise. we are hoping for more compensation but it is pending processing from the refunds department and may take up to 30 days for a response. i followed up with delta today via chat (which took a considerably shorter time for a response ~15 minutes) and they again offered apologies and a $150 voucher/person. so far, i am up $550 for the two of us for this flight cancellation and hope i can get more so that all our expenses will be covered lol.

xmas and the days after xmas turned into scrambling and troubleshooting for the trip. it wasn’t the easiest to communicate because matt was on a different schedule than us. i had to be the bearer of bad news to his family and to him when he woke up that day after night shifts (after only 4 hours of sleep). running on fumes, post-night shifts/80 hour work week recovery and the disappointment of missing a family cruise made this experience very emotional. we booked last minute flights to new orleans to arrive thursday morning and booked a last minute hotel room in the french quarter. also did our best to book restaurants and activities.

matt always sets out to bite off more than he can chew. its admirable that he always does so much though it comes with extra benefits and extra tolls/stress. the moment that our flight to nola got cancelled, i would have given up, stayed put in nyc, and went straight to amex to try and get our money back. matt (regardless of the fact that he’s working a 12 hr shift until 7am the night before) immediately goes to check for other flights that we can possibly take, from philly, or other routes, to get on the damn cruise.

f*ck marwa (his boss) for putting him on night shifts yet again. although his contract says 20% of nights, we calculated his nights to be 45% thus far. he finally complained when she put him on nights on the second half of january again. a trip right after night shifts is definitely not enjoyable because you’re basically recovering and reversing the “jet lag” the first few days. anyway, if he was on days, we saw that the flight that we would have taken on xmas night made it to nola soundly.

nola 2022: the last time i was in nola was right before the pandemic in january 2020. i guess this trip makes it full circle. this time around, i experienced the richer side of nola. we had a rental car last time; this time we ubered or took tours. due to our sleep schedules being off, we only got one hour of sleep before our flight thursday morning. the hotel fortunately allowed us complimentary early check in. we took an uber to eat at blue oaks bbq near city park and trudged over to cafe du monde afterwards. came back to the hotel to nap. that night, we ate at compere lapin.

on the second day, our steamboat on the mississippi river got delayed and then cancelled. it was pouring rain and they said the boat had mechanical issues. i think the world was telling us that we’re not allowed on any boats that week. we went to eat herbsaint, checked out the sazerac house, and then rode a streetcar to the garden district to eat la petite grocery. all of these restaurants that we were eating were mostly white, “fine dining” establishments. la petite grocery especially was entirely white. it felt interesting to be the only POC. my favorite dish of this trip was the hamachi with pineapple and fried okra from compere lapin.

on the third day (NYE), we met up with matt’s family for a swamp and plantation tour. i did these activities in 2020 but at different locations so it was interesting to compare/contrast. the weather was warmer this time around, so we saw more alligators. i was lucky to see one up close. the plantation’s oak trees are beautiful. the one we went to this time was more commercialized and the experience was more like a museum. after the tour, we checked in to the sonder that i booked for everyone - it was a two bedroom apartment and extremely spacious. i led matt’s dad, brother and cousin in and it was really nice to see their reaction to the space. matt and his mom came in later and she liked it too. matt and i have become the default planners/navigators of trips. he did the majority of the work when it came to booking everyone’s plane tickets, cruise tickets, excursions, hotels, activities, restaurants etc. not only does he book these, but everything has to be up to his standards as good quality and good deal.

sidebar: we have met his match when it comes to these credit card points/travel hacking, his indian coworker R. R was helping us through this scramble during xmas night shift (tips on converting points to stay at a 5 star resort for cheap, how to email a complaint letter to delta using an AI generator, etc)

NYE evening, we ate at trenasse, which FINALLY was a mixed crowd. we ate the flavors of lousiana (crawfish pie, shrimp and grits, gumbo, oysters, etc) and shared a bottle of wine. the timing worked out perfectly for us to walk over to jackson square to watch the ball drop at midnight. our sonder also provided NYE props for us to wear and matts cousin had some raver necklaces. i think this was my first time ever celebrating new years by actually being out and counting down? the crowd was not at all rowdy and overall it was pretty quiet - i was scared it was going to be very crazy like bourbon st which i can only handle in doses. the fireworks were mesmerizing and the whole experience was really nice.

all of our uber drivers were friendly and talkative, which is completely different from NYC and most other cities. there were three uber drivers that we had who were talking on the phone on speaker. one was specifically chatting to his baby mama or girlfriend about nye plans and his lost debit card lol. i’ve never seen an uber driver have a full on conversation with passengers in their car. i was a bit apprehensive about all the talking (like i see how covid can spread more easily with this southern hospitality culture) but i started liking it by the end of the trip.

it usually comes down to: we got to experience really cool and memorable things, but is it worth the extra stress/lack of relaxation and rest? especially when the lack of relaxation and rest impacts the quality of being able to experience said really cool things? is it worth it if the extra stress causes us to be in worse moods and argue more? seeing family also comes with extra responsibilities as we are the adult couple who has more travel experiences and therefore should make the call on a lot of things.

this month, i am making it a point to only stay in town. we need to learn how to cultivate our lives here, which can be difficult without family and many friends.

although we have more money now, we are not using it to make our lives less stressful. in fact we are complicating our lives and adding more pressure. with the bougier choices that we are making (to try and make ourselves happier), ie the expensive trips and expensive dinners, there are definitely higher expectations, higher financial pressures and stress, more planning involved (and more opportunities for mishaps to occur), and then then more pressure to work more to fund this lifestyle that you’re too burnt out to enjoy. soooo stupid.

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alexracheltravel · 1 year

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It was an early and hot morning in Ho Chi Minh City. Even French-style espresso at a cafe tasted better than anything the states could offer. We took a taxi to District 5 where we'd be taking a bus to Ben Tre, almost two hours south of Saigon/HCMC. While we waited for the bus to arrive, we watched people play jianzi, a game like badminton, but instead of hitting a shuttlecock with a miniature tennis racket, they used their feet, like an advanced game of hackeysack.

Ben Tre is a small town located in the Mekong Delta, the heartland of Vietnam. We had yet another small tour scheduled with a company with an attractive name: Mango Cruises. But the tour was personable and kind. The small group was eight in total, including our guide, Thanh, a local, whose mix of personal knowledge and professionalism gave us a memorable and entertaining experience.

True to it's name, Mango Cruises, we stepped onto a 20ft long shaded boat, with comfortable chairs and a massive stack of fresh fruit. The seven of us guests immediately broke into the fresh rambutan on our way to the first stop, a brick-making facility right alongside the delta. Workers, many of the same family, dug clay from the delta, tossed fist-size lumps into a machine that resembled a large pasta maker, which spat out even bricks of clay. A woman held a steady rhythm of cutting even lines of clay, moving rows of grey bricks aside and stacking them in a pile, where they were moved into the sun where they would dry. After about two days, thousands of these clay lumps will be loaded into a towering furnace and cooked at intensely high temperatures until they form the bright red color we see today. The fire is maintained day and night, and people take shifts to maintain an even, high heat. Even in the blazing sun, a hotter fire rages on.

The group moved on. We had yet another bike ride through Ben Tre. We went far - eight km approximately - along a cement path that snaked up and down tree-lined paths. Coconut trees provided shade, and dogs at every house barked incessantly until we were far out of sight. The Vietnamese are superstitious, and those from Mekong moreso. They believe dogs can see and sense ghosts and every house seemed to have one to ward off evil spirits, or at the very least some American cyclists.

The trek took us a long the river where we hopped back on the boat, munching on a host of fresh fruit: banana, mango, dragonfruit. But the star of the show was a freshly cut coconut, filled with sweet nectar and tender white flesh. After a long ride, nothing tastes better.

From the boat we arrived at another part of the delta where we walked about three miles along the same set of winding paths. We passed a variety of homes and farms, a lot more dogs, and more fruit that we could count. In the delta, residential areas and agriculture were one in the same. Almost everyone here grew produce, including Thanh. Most of what they sold was indeed coconut, and it made up a great deal of their passive income.

It was time for a break. Luckily, Thanh brought us to the home of a local woman who provided us with tea, which was sweetened with honey and kumquat. It was served alongside a mound of pineapple and watermelon, a side of a salty topping made up of chili, salt, and shrimp powder (which reminded us of the ladies selling mango, covered in tajin) and little candies.

The break gave us some respite before we hopped into another small boat as some local farmers rowed us down a local channel, canopied by palm trees, leading us back to the main Mekong. Here, everything runs back into the Mekong.

Earlier on the trip, Thanh pointed at a mountainous pile of browned coconuts that were resting stop a cement landing. The water levels had been low earlier, but now the tide had come in and it was just high enough for us to dock at a small coconut processing facility, where residents cut up a couple thousand coconuts each day. Here they use older coconuts for more than just food. The husks become rope. The leaves of the trees become fertilizer. The inside water is boiled and turned to thick molasses. We even got to see a coconut seed and eat it. The texture was spongey, like a mushroom, sweet, and delicious.

If you can believe it, we hadn't even eaten lunch yet. Back at the main Mango house, they served us a set course meal, made up of soup, shrimp salad, noodles and pork, chicken curry with rice, and ending with more fruit with the salty chili dipping powder.

For the final part of the tour, we biked for about a kilometer or two to the Sao household, who makes their own rice paper (very common in Ben Tre). Rice paper is used for spring rolls, crackers, and more. We were invited into their very humble home, and got to watch the "magic" happen. Rice was ground into powder, then mixed with water and salt. Mrs. Sao poured a ladle of the white soupy mixture onto a thin cloth that rested over a smoking flame, covered it with a thatched coconut cover for twenty or thirty seconds, then carefully peeled it, a perfect circle, onto a tray, where it would be left out to dry in the sun for a few hours.

Mrs. Sao let us try and make our own rice paper. We did not do well. Afterwards, her husband, Mr. Sao, told us a little about his experience fighting in the Vietnam Army. He was too young to fight in the American War. When he turned 18, he sent to Cambodia to fight the Khmer Rouge. His moving experience could fill a Hollywood film. Imagine a man, crossing the border from Southern Vietnam and into Cambodian territory, to fight a country whose leader buried it's dissidents alive. Mr. Sao sent one message telling his family where he was going and for the next five years, he had no contact with them at all. But still, he survived. When he returned in the night, skin tanned by the sun, face only illuminated by lamplight, his mother thought she had seen a ghost. Perhaps that was partially true. Mr. Sao says he still is haunted by nightmares from those days. Thanh, our interpreter, did his best to communicate the horrors of the Khmer Rouge and the challenges that many Vietnamese and Cambodians faced.

Our tour ended there. We returned to the Mango resort, where we sat in hammocks and watched the sun set over the horizon of the Mekong Delta. Relaxing in solitude and letting the day wash over us.

This tour taught us the beauty of this country and the importance of responsible tourism. Those who grow up in the Mekong learn to live off of the land. The coconut is ubiquitous here and makes up the base of their existence. They drink the water, and the food feeds them and their animals. But more. The husks are cut and torn. Cut into strings and woven, they create baskets and rope. Others use the strands to feed cooking fires, instead of using gas. The leaves of the trees are trimmed and shaven for roofs and coverings. When they rot, they become fertilizer for the plants. The complex irrigation system that we walked along not only provided fresh water for the trees, and one man was wading in it, scooping up mud. The farmers gather silt and use it once again to plant new trees and seethe new life into the land. Clay washes along the delta; it is scooped up and used for bricks for their homes. When a coconut tree grows old and long, the fruit becoming too hard to reach, the trunk is cut and the wood is used for timber, carpentry.

Life along the Mekong is by and for the Mekong. Much like how the Native Americans lived off the entirety of the buffalo, the Vietnamese live off the entirety of the coconut. Their land is important. Mango Cruises was more than just a ride through a river. It showed us a culture of how one lives, behaves, and how we can experience and understand our relationship with the land through seeing how someone can depend on it so well. For that lesson, it was among the finest excursion we have experienced, not just in Vietnam, but in all of our travels.

Total distance: 5.5 miles walking, about 6 miles on bike.

Alex: I think it's safe to say we had a really good day, right?

Rachel: Yeah.

Alex: I'm pretty sure we'll remember all of today but out of them all, which of today's activities did you enjoy the most?

Rachel: I thought the rowboat through the smaller waterway was really really cool. Was your favorite part eating all of the fresh fruit?

A: Umm let me think. I don't know if I'd say that was my favorite part but I just really like all of today's vibe. It was laid back, we floated on the boat, got to experience culture, and yeah I gorged on some fruit. How surprised were you that I ate a banana?

R: Very very surprised.

A: Everyone, I ate a banana!

R: And we're all proud of you.

A: I think the mango was my favorite of the fruits. I feel the coconut water doesn't count. That's above it all.

R: Mhmm.

A: It's in a level on its own.

R: Totally agree. And that was one of the best mangos I've ever had.

A: We didn't even get to talk about dinner tonight, which was another banh mi.

R: Well, technically, two banh mis. We did one roasted pork and one chicken. And I think this is a rare circumstance in which the chicken was better.

A: I think this is a rare circumstance in which your taste buds have been seared off and you can't tell the difference. Because the pork was absolutely superior.

R: What? You liked the chicken one the whole time!

A: That wasn't the pork one?

R: That was chicken.

A: Really.

R: I can't tell if this is a bit or not.

A: I really didn't know! Ha. I'm sorry.

R: You don't need to apologize. It's just very confusing. I was like oh my gosh you never like chicken more than pork.

A: Well, then I'm glad the chicken was better. Ok. Is it time for bed?

R: *Closes eyes*

A: Goodnight all!

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kamandzak · 1 year

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Excerpt | Day 0 [Working title]

Do you ever write something that feels like you've sliced your gut open, pulled out your heart, and thrown it on a page?

Title: Day 0 [working title]

No context required as this is the first few pages of the book

Best listen to the Theory of Everything soundtrack whilst you read.

Day 0

Monday

I wasn’t always in denial, but then again I wasn’t always a lot of things. I wasn’t always a shitty best friend. I wasn’t always so insecure that I preferred unhealthy relationships to none at all. I wasn’t always the type of man to sneak around, hiding truths from some while hiding lies from others.

Everything’s different now, though. Some things make sense, while others don’t. Eventually everything will be better; eventually I won’t feel like a stake is being driven through every part of my soul each waking moment of each day.

Until then, I’ll spend my time remembering the life of my best friend, and what we could have been.

Day 120

Monday

It was surprising to see Helen’s office door wide open well before we were scheduled to begin the workday. Getting along in age, she tended to get to the museum right at 9 am, leaving myself and the others to sit on the front steps on our phones, listening to whatever morning traffic or lawn care services were roaring around us. One could imagine my surprise when I hesitantly pulled on the front door handle and was met without resistance.

My first thought was to go find Isaac so we could hypothesize the reason, but his dark desk – keyboard and screen coated in a light layer of dust and particulates – met me as I threw my coat on the coat hooks near the back of house entrance. Up on the nearby wall was the weeks calendar; when the curators would be arriving, any large field trips from the local schools, any calls or interviews Helen had set up for her two right hand men to take care of while she perused the web for new exhibits. Despite loving the job and knowing I was a good worker, my heart began to race as I traced the staff list with my fingers and saw that my days shift was overlaid with a dark red line of permanent marker.

“Sealock? Is that you?”

There was no reason to be anxious, unless you counted my always-overthinking mind, of which I was always keenly aware. I could feel my heartbeat in my throat.

Standing in her doorway, Helen Masterson stood in a regal purple dress, hair pulled severely back as it tended to on days she was meeting with new potential artists. On eye contact, her expression seemed to soften.

“Hey,” I managed quietly.

“You’re not fired, if that’s why you look like you’ve just seen a ghost,” Helen clarified and my heightened senses relaxed a bit. “I just have an errand for you and a new girl coming in to help me out. That’s why I marked through your name.”

An errand is something I could do. An excuse to get out and drive around while getting paid and handling whatever business Helen didn’t feel like doing that day was always a welcome task, especially on a Monday. Reaching down, I picked up my shoulder bag and reached for my travel mug of coffee.

“What’s it for?”

“Come here and I’ll give it to you.”

Helen’s office was as pristinely straightforward as her appearance and personality, and while I didn’t understand older people who were as uptight as her, I didn’t question it. Whatever she did with her life was her business, and she seemed content with the state of things.

On her desk sat a large legal-sized envelope with some heavy-handed letters and numbers on the front. With a swoop of her hand, she beckoned me to sit and simultaneously picked up the package, spinning it between her fingers. There was something about her that morning; something off.

“What’s that?”

“It’s for you.”

“I figured as much,” I said with a light smile. “Where am I going?”

“You’re going to pick up that boyfriend of yours. Aaron,” Helen began firmly and I winced at the name escaping her lips. “You’re going to go to Vista Memorial and hand this to the nurse at the admittance desk. They’ll know what to do.”

“I don’t understand?”

“I know you don’t.” There was something about her timbre that changed with that sentence; something frightening and different and unlike I had ever seen her. “You will, though. No need to clock out. Call me when you’re done.”

I didn’t dare question her.

A million worse-case scenarios fired through my synapses as I reversed my routine back out to my car, with nearly every one leading back to the same gut-twisting conclusion that maybe I had missed something in the months Aaron and I were together and that something was wrong with Isaac. The fact that Helen made it clear that I would need emotional support to complete the mission did nothing to assuage my anxieties.

Evan:

Hey

Helen gave me an errand

and said you need to come with

I’ll be home in twenty

Aaron was tall and statuesque, standing on the communal porch in front of our apartment. I hadn’t entered the dating app chat with the intention of eventually sharing a living space, but several months later I found myself tiptoeing around the bedroom in the morning to keep from waking him up. With my 9-to-5 and his sporadic night shifts as a bartender, we were spending less and less meaningful time together and instead taking advantage of our occasional crossovers in bed.

Aaron:

That’s weird but okay

Our lack of emotional connection made it seem even less sense that we were still together. Never had we sat down and talked about secrets and dreams – he knew nothing of my life outside of leaving for work and what my favorite thing was to eat. He also didn’t volunteer much information beyond his schedule and if there was an altercation at work.

He knew little about the friendship Isaac and I had cultivated. It wasn’t something I was ashamed of; in fact, the fact that I found my best friend after struggling socially in high school and college was one I held close and proudly. After a few mentions of Isaac – an inside joke or a trip we took together or a funny text – and the resulting reactions, the topic of him and I dwindled. What seemed like disinterest gradually turned into underhanded jabs and the idea that Aaron and I were a thing. I wasn’t to bring up anyone I had dated previously. ‘I never dated Isaac,’ I would say. ‘I don’t care,’ was always his cold response.

My stomach and mind and heart were in such a state of knots as we pulled into Vista’s emergency parking area that the thought of something possibly being wrong with Isaac didn’t have me running my mind through the gamut of Aaron’s reactions. Who knew me better anyhow; the man to whom I avoided telling anything important because I knew he wouldn’t commit it to memory? Or the man who could tell when I wasn’t giving him the long version of the story and would stop me and make sure I told it all?

We crossed the vast parking lot as Aaron twiddled the envelope between his fingers and with every step of my foot I became more and more detached from my present state of mind. Dress shoes hitting the pavement felt like I was stomping on rubber mats; hands stuffed in pockets, holding onto loose lint and my wallet as if encased in thick gloves; my brain desperately keeping me moving forward at a normal speed while my heart felt like it was pumping corn syrup through my veins. With each passing foot the world seemed to get heavier. It’s fine. It’s not him, I reassured myself only to be met with a churning gut that told me it couldn’t be anyone else.

The automatic doors opened on their own accord and the thick gloves and rubber floor extended to the rest of my body, as if someone had covered me in topical anesthetic and too-tight wetsuit. The air was thick, the sounds of the hospital muffled as if traveling through cotton-packed ear canals, and I watched Aaron’s lips move but heard nothing. Out of body, I watched as he reached over and took the hand that was supposedly attached to my living body, holding it tight. It was a surprising gesture of caring; maybe I wasn’t doing as much of a good job of hiding my panic from the outside world as I thought.

“Here.” At last I heard something outside of my own rushing blood. Taking the envelope from Aaron, we approached a large semi-circle desk that stood between our location and large double doors that I knew led to whomever Helen had sent me to visit.

“Good morning, how can I help you?” A kind woman with dark hair and pale complexion sat on a tall stool behind said desk, a pleasant smile across the lower half of her face and gentle eyes so full of empathetic helpfulness I couldn’t bear maintaining eye contact for too long. Her eyes flickered between my blank face and the empty area of table between us several times. “Sir?”

“I’m supposed to give this to you,” I nearly whispered, passing the envelope across and into her soft hands. “I was sent here by Helen Masterson.”

Without bothering to break the seal, she rose with an expression that was impossible to decipher.

“Of course,” she said, though it seemed more like an afterthought or maybe a bit of inner monologue that escaped into reality. “One moment.”

I watched her blurringly; watched as she turned and located a particular nurse; watched as they huddled close together and threw a few uncertain glances in my direction; watched as they turned the envelope over and over in their hands but never pulled their thumb to tear at the adhesive.

It’s fine. It’s not him, my desperate subconscious funneled again and again into my thoughts only to be met with the immovable force of guilt.

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