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icecoldflames · 5 years

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The Pinnae Flower Chapter 1

Masterlist

The Fifth Pinnae Book???

People seem to want to know my opinion on Raz Keeran’s soon-to-be-published fifth and final book in the Pinnae series. So, I’m gonna give it to them.

I know Pinnies—fairies and spirits alike—are freaking out. Who wouldn’t? I’m freaking out right now, sitting up in my bed, nursing a cup of tea and writing this blog post. But I’m not freaking out for the same reasons everyone else is freaking out about.

I’m freaking out because I want to know what’s going to happen in the fifth and final book. We never knew there would be five books in the series, only four. However, Raz Keeran stated on his Twitter that five books in his series was always the plan. It wasn’t unprecedented. So, it’s not a money-grab like some people think.

Also, I’d like to point out (or, more specifically, my friend Logan pointed out to me) that there is no actual proof that Raz Keeran is going to kill off Parisa and Arel. I don’t know where that rumour started but, on Raz’s official sites and social media, it doesn’t say anything about killing the two main characters from the previous four books!

I know that the summary for Pinnae: Spelunca that Raz gave us is pretty nerve-wracking. I mean, come on Raz! We need to kill now what this last book is going to be about! His exact tweet says this:

“A short summary of PS:

It will not have Arel and Parisa in it but will focus entirely on a new MC. Fairies and sprites will not have a major role either.”

Thanks for that hint, Raz.

But anyway, with some sleuthing with Logan, we managed to headcanon what this last book will be about:

Number 1. It will probably be about dragons. I mean, this is pretty obvious I think. Dragons were mentioned in the previous books. Also, in PM and PE, their titles are the names of the fairy and sprite villages: Magus and Exsul. This is obvious latin and anyone could put those words into Google Translate and find the words “magical” and “outcast”/”banished person”. The latin of Spelunca is “cave”. Where do dragons live? Exactly. A cave.

Number 2. We’ll figure out who took the pinnae flower. Raz never did answer the question as to why the dragons stole the pinnae flower (I know Raz never did say the dragons actually did take the flower but it’s pretty much canon by now. Unless some fairy or sprite rubbed glitter on a dragon scale).

Number 3. Raz also NEVER TOLD US WHO FREAKING KILLED SIDNEY. I know some people think that maybe it wasn’t a person but I’m not buying it. Raz wouldn’t kill off that character and then say “oh, he died of a heart attack” or “he died by glitter suffocation”. No. Sidney died at the hands of another person. Who, you may ask? We’ll find out in PS, we’re sure.

Number 4. We’ll find out why Arel’s little sister, Kaida, was in that last scene. We’re sure it wasn’t a vision or some weird magical hallucination. Kaida was there at the battle. Sure, she vanished in, how Raz put it, “a blink of an eye” but do you know how that could have happened? Oh, I don’t know. Magic?

Which brings us to Number 5. Kaida, Logan and I think, is going to be the new MC. We both think it won’t be a full-fledged magical character like a sprite, fairy, or dragon, so human (or at least half-human) will probably be the main character. I mean, why else would Raz add that tidbit about Kaida there if they didn’t plan on using this character in the first place?

So, yeah. These are five things Logan and I think will happen in PS. I’m not mad at Raz for making a fifth book. Sure, the ending of PTNE was pretty good and cry worthy but there is just so much Raz hasn’t answered. Something tells me we’re in for a big surprise.

No one was expecting that bloodbath at the end of PTNE and I think Raz might be preparing us for something darker. The first four books might be about cute fairies and sprites but this last book, we know, is not going to be focused on them.

Thanks for reading my loyal plebeians.

Prince Roman Falco

~~~

Roman read through his post once again before hitting the “publish” button. Then, he heard the familiar whoosh as the post went onto his blog, “The Prince’s Crown”. His blog was his most prized work. A blog—his blog—with a massive and loyal following.

While he started writing posts about musical theatre first, it slowly morphed into a Raz Keeran blog dedicated to Raz’s most famous series: the Pinnae series about fairies and sprites. He still did other posts like everyday life posts and still about theatre. But he was known famously for his Raz Keeran posts. Though, he couldn’t give all the credit to himself. As much as he wanted to, most of his fame admittedly came from his best friend since high school, Logan Holmes.

Logan was incredible with thinking up theories and backing them up with the most forgettable quote from the series. And, amazingly, they usually made sense. Logan also edited all of his posts to make sure he used correct grammar and spelling and sourced everything well.

Logan was not an avid Pinnae series reader or a, as the fandom called themselves, the Pinnies. And Roman could understand that. Logan wasn’t into fantasy worlds with fairies and sprites. He liked mysteries and non-fiction and something that puzzled his mind.

Roman constantly teased about Logan’s last name. Holmes. As in the famous fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes.

With some persuading on Roman’s part, he had managed to get Logan to pick up the Pinnae series. There had been only three books out at the time and Logan had read them in three days. One 700 paged book a day. And Logan was working at the university on those three days. It was like he ate them up and gained the knowledge inside them.

While Logan still wasn’t a full-on Pinnie, he enjoyed the book and had respect for Raz Keeran. “That author can sure write a fantasy novel.” Logan had said after he had finished the fourth book.

Roman watched as his blog post began to be read. His first and most loyal plebeian, an unknown face under the name “theazureflower” commented first, like usual.

Amazing read Roman! Tell Logan that he did a fantastic job! I feel as though this fifth book will not be like any others. And not just because it’s the last book in the series! Your headcanons always seem to make perfect sense! (◕ ˬ ◕✿)

Roman grinned and pressed “reply”.

Glad you liked it! I’ll definitely tell Logan your praise when I see him next!

Roman finally closed his laptop and stood up. He stretched his back and wrists as he made his way to the kitchen for a snack.

He loved Raz Keeran’s series. Maybe some would call it childish for a 25 year old to read such a fantasy novel, but he didn’t care. He had been called many things in life and childish was definitely the one he preferred.

The only thing that really bothered him was that he didn't know who Raz Keeran was. No one did. Raz wrote under a penname and had, so far, not been found out by the public. There was little known about Raz. All Roman and the public knew was that Raz lived in a small town in the USA. No one even knew what gender Raz was. They were completely anonymous and Roman wished he knew who Raz was.

It would be an incredible feat. It would be in magazines, on blogs, in the news! POPULAR BLOGGER UNCOVERED THE MYSTERY BEHIND AUTHOR RAZ KEERAN. He would be famous! It was a secret dream of his to find out Raz’s identity. He knew a lot of people frowned down upon those who wanted to figure it out. They said that if Raz wanted to be found out, they would have shown themselves long ago. They said it was Raz’s own, private, business.

But that still didn’t stop Roman’s dream. He wanted to find Raz. The first one to find Raz. Before anyone else did. He knew there were other people trying to find them. Most of them were large news corporations who could allow that much time spent looking for clues.

But Roman had something that the news corporations didn’t have. He had Logan Holmes.

Roman had hinted at the idea of Logan helping him search for Raz plenty of times. In conversations, in texts, anytime he could speak to Logan. But Logan refused. He had the same opinion as most Pinnies—that trying to find Raz was an invasion of privacy and was wrong.

But Roman’s counter argument was always “but Raz puts themself in the spotlight, they should be in the public. It was their choice to write the Pinnae series.”

However, Logan, always the intellectual, would say “but it was Raz’s choice to stay out of the public eye. You can’t dictate another person’s choice to either stay out of the brutal views of the public eye or put themselves in the limelight where they would no longer have the privacy they want.”

Roman sighed as he opened his cabinet, taking out some crackers and getting some cheese from the fridge. He was sure that if Logan helped him find Raz, they would be able to find them. Easy peasy.

These few months were the perfect time to try to find Raz, too. It was coming up on summer vacation and Logan was taking his summer vacation too. They would both be free from work to travel to wherever Raz lived and find him before their time would be up and they’d have to go back to work.

Roman cut up his cheese in little pieces, humming to himself. Maybe he should phone over to Logan’s house and see what’s up later. Maybe today would be the day he would convince Logan to help him find Raz.

~~~

Logan looked down at his computer screen, reading the picture of theazureflower’s favourite passage from the whole Pinnae series written by Raz Keeran. theazureflower did this every time they messaged each other. He must have at least 10 different favourite scenes in the Pinnae series. Not that Logan was complaining. The passage he sent Logan was from the first book, Pinnae: Forests and Flowers.

Sidney looked absolutely terrifying. The other sprites seemed to think the same too for they made sure to keep a good distance between them and Sidney. His hair was a curly dark red and his eyes were haunting—a smoky grey and golden flecks, sunk deep into his face. He seemed almost impossibly skinny—skinnier than the sprite queen herself.

He was the only one who had a dark grey cape wrapped snugly around his neck with a hood. Most of the sprites had short sleeved shirts on of varying colours. It was like Sidney was a dark stormcloud amidst a large rainbow.

But Sidney didn’t seem to mind the obvious difference between him and the other sprites.

“Hi!” Arel said, looking at Sidney with a toothy smile. “It’s nice to meet you. I like your cape.”

A couple nearby sprites seemed astonished that Arel was even speaking to Sidney and I had to nudge Arel in the side. “They’re staring at us!” I hissed.

Arel looked at me. It was almost a confused look. “Why does it matter? Besides, we’re humans Parisa. Or,” his eyebrows drew down, “at least half human”. He shrugged and turned back to Sidney. I huffed and crossed my arms.

Sidney gave a curt, tight-lipped, smile to Arel. “Thanks. I made it myself.”

“Wow! I wish I could make my own clothes! Normally my mom just buys it at the store.” Arel rambled kindly, making me even irritated.

“That sprite is constantly wearing that stupid cape,” a sprite next to me sighed, climbing onto a branch near my ear. I turned to see a female sprite with bright purple hair. I think Titania introduced her as Mauve. She was frowning deeply. “Once,” she said more quietly, “me and a couple other sprites tried to pull that thing off.”

I looked at her and glanced back to where Arel and Sidney were now having a conversation about leather. “And? What happened?” I asked quietly, urging her to go on.

Mauve shivered just slightly and I was afraid she would fall off the branch. “Let’s just say no one saw him for a whole month. Rumour has it he was exiled.”

“Was there anything you found?” I asked, cocking my head to the side, keeping Sidney and Arel in my peripheral view. “Underneath his cape?”

Mauve shook her head vigorously, her purple hair shaking with it. “Didn’t even get that close to him…” she trailed off and crossed her arms tightly.

Mauve glanced over at Sidney and Arel and I followed her gaze.

They were both laughing silently, as if they’d known each other for eons.

Logan liked Sidney’s introduction too. While the sulky, dark, character was often a cliché there was just...something about Sidney’s character that made him think there was a reason for the cape—a reason for his death in the fourth book. He wasn’t just any morally grey character who would no doubt get an arc in the last book.

But, then again, maybe it wouldn’t happen. Logan had been wrong before. Raz had pleasantly surprised him in the fourth book. He had thought that Raz wouldn’t include such a bloody war. It seemed more like a children’s book than a young adult novel and the blood and descriptions really threw him for a loop.

That was what made Logan like Raz. It was unlike any YA novel Roman had made him read. While some things were alike—fantasy universes, action and conflict and romance—The Pinnae series was something else entirely.

It had hints of dark but children could still read it. It was hidden so well that Logan almost didn’t catch it himself.

theazureflower: I just love sidney’s character!!!

theazureflower: And arel and parisa’s and mauve and lewis’!!!

Logan grinned down at his screen and rolled his eyes.

Lewis’_Journal: You love all the characters. I don’t think you’d be able to choose a favourite character if your life depended on it.

theazureflower: Guilty is charged ;)

theazureflower: But they are all so amazing and raz does such a good job at making their characters feel so...real!!!!

theazureflower: I mean, none of the characters are perfect and their flaws don’t seem like an afterthought. They just...ASDFGHJKL! I relate to all of them all at once!

Logan loved this about theazureflower. He was always so excitable and happy and reminded him of—no. He wouldn't think about him now. Not when he was talking to theazureflower and having a good time.

He did agree with theazureflower, though. Raz’s characters all seemed to be real characters—save that most of them were magical creatures who could fly and speak to animals.

theazureflower: What character do you relate to most???

Lewis’_Journal: Definitely Lewis. I feel like he’s almost exactly like me.

Logan didn’t want to delve too deep into Lewis’ character with theazureflower. It felt almost...too personal to talk about with an online friend he didn’t even know the first name to.

Lewis, Logan felt, was the perfect embodiment of himself.

Lewis was a fairy who was mentioned briefly in the first book before being introduced more thoroughly in the second book, Pinnae: Magus. He was intelligent and smart and did not speak much with the other fairies. Logan liked to think he was the opposite of Sidney to a degree—the outcast character but on the fairy side.

But Lewis accompanied Parisa in her quest to find the missing Pinnae flower. He was, at first, silent and incredibly stoic. It was only when Parisa brought her laments that she was missing Arel that they really bonded.

During that chapter the reader finds that Lewis has a brother. While Logan doesn’t have a brother himself, he can still empathize with Lewis’ emotions connected to his gone missing brother.

theazureflower didn’t reply for a long moment. Logan didn’t think about it too much.

That was when the phone rang. He reached for the phone and groaned at the caller ID. Roman. Roman Falco. His co writer of the popular blog, “The Prince’s Crown”. Logan’s name was never mentioned in the About page but Roman mentioned him enough that almost all the readers knew Logan helped write Roman’s posts.

What really annoyed Logan, though, was that Roman was a, rather scatterbrained and b, was obsessed with the author of the Pinnae series, Raz Keeran.

While scatterbrained was fine (it was only the fact that Roman never had a schedule for his posts and they always came out on random days at random times), it was Roman’s obsession that was borderline stalkerish and just plain wrong.

“Let the author live their life!” Logan had said late last week when Roman had asked him to figure out where Keeran lived for the thousandth time. “If Keeran wants to stay anonymous, that’s their business, not yours.”

Logan was hoping Roman would eventually drop it. But, Logan knew his friend well. Roman was very strong minded and when he wanted something, he would try his darned hardest to get his idea to become a reality.

Logan put the phone to his ear after heaving a deep sigh. “Hello?”

“Logan—“

“—No, Roman. I’ve already told you I’m not going to stalk Keeran and find out where they live so you can unveil them in your blog.” Logan said crossly.

It was silent on the other end for a split second. “...It’s your blog too, ya know.” Roman’s voice finally said. “You help me with all my posts.”

“But you started the blog.” Logan pointed out. If Logan were to have a blog, it wouldn’t be about a book series (no matter how good of a series they were) and he would definitely not call it “The Prince’s Crown”.

“Yeah, that doesn’t mean anything.” Roman said emphatically.

Logan didn’t know why he was arguing with Roman. Besides, Logan and Roman didn’t get paid for the blog. Sure, sometimes they got ads on their blog but, more often than not, “The Prince’s Crown” to Logan was more of a hobby.

Roman seemed to be thinking about the same thing as Logan as he immediately dropped the argument. “Anyway. Logan, you’ll never believe what I just read!”

Logan crossed his arms, squatting the phone between his ear and shoulder. He raised an eyebrow. “What did you find now, Roman? Something about Keeran on another sourceless blog that only relies on speculation?”

“No—well...yes.”

Logan pushed up his glasses and took a breath. “Okay, Roman, what did you find?”

One of Roman’s “brilliant” ideas to find information about Keeran was to search up their name or something about the Pinnae series and then go to the very last Google page.

Most so-called “interviews” with Keeran and “Raz Keeran Revealed!!!” posts were fake and were in the last pages of Google for a reason.

“There’s this new interview! Speaking to Raz Keeran over email!”

“—Literally every interview with Keeran is over email,” Logan said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “No one has heard Keeran’s voice. No one knows what gender Keeran is either, that’s the whole point of email.”

“Anyway,” Roman continued. “It said that they managed to learn a couple things about Raz. It said that they managed to weasel out of them that they go to this cafe every morning. And!! Listen to this! It says that Raz lives somewhere around the coast and their town does annual art exhibits around their streets!”

Logan’s back stiffened and he instantly began scrolling backwards in his conversation with theazureflower. “Art exhibits in the streets?” He repeated. “What is this blog anyway?”

“‘The Pinnae Flower’.” Roman replied. “Some tiny blog run by this girl.”

“Isn’t that the one who also said Keeran was some big corporation?” Logan asked, still scrolling. He was into last year’s conversation with theazureflower.

“...Well...yeah. But still!”

Then, Logan found it. A conversation he had had with theazureflower two years ago. June. Almost exactly two years earlier.

theazureflower: I can’t wait for this weekend!!!

Lewis’_Journal: How come? What’s happening over there?

theazureflower: There’s this thing my town does

theazureflower: It’s kinda of like this art thing

theazureflower: Artists in our town do some art and over the weekend they hang them everywhere in the town

theazureflower: Like a scavenger hunt but you find wonderful art everywhere!

Logan wasn’t sure if any other USA town did an art exhibit like theazureflower. It felt odd for Keeran, though. If their town and theazureflower’s were the ones to do an art exhibit, then wouldn’t Keeran be more secretive with it?

But when Logan searched it up. There were a couple of small towns that did something like what theazureflower explained.

There were multiple towns but none of them were theazureflower’s home town. Logan knew theazureflower’s hometown, Mayflower Town, and it wasn’t there.

“Logan?” Roman asked, making him jump. He had forgotten Roman was still on the line. “You still there? What are you doing?”

“I think…” Logan said, trailing off. He straightened his spine. “I think you should leave Keeran alone.” He hung up before Roman could say anything else.

Logan went back to the computer and theazureflower.

...What if theazureflower and Keeran lived in the same town?

Logan and theazureflower sometimes talked about meeting each other summer. Maybe…

He quickly shut the computer. No. He wouldn’t. He couldn’t try to unveil Keeran. It would go against all of his morals. It was wrong. Just plain wrong.

But Roman would want to travel with him—they always did in the summer. And if Logan told Roman about Keeran and theazureflower, Roman wouldn’t leave that town until he found out Keeran’s identity.

Unless...what if theazureflower was Keeran?

No. That was impossible. Keeran explicitly said in previous email interviews they did not read theories about the Pinnae series because they didn’t want to be accused of plagiarism. “The Prince’s Crown” was just about all theories and ideas.

No. Logan couldn’t go against his morals. He wasn’t a hypocrite. Logan did not want to be the one to put a spotlight on Raz Keeran.

Logan got out of bed and poured himself a cup of coffee in a cup that Roman had given him last year for his birthday—a Sherlock Holmes mug that said “It’s elementary, my dear Watson”.

It was going to be a long day. He could feel it.

~~~

Roman loves to teach. Children were always bursting with excitement and ideas. Roman was glad he was a drama teacher—he couldn’t imagine teaching children math or science.

It was nearing the end of school and since elementary schools had no exams, he didn’t have to do major correcting like Logan did.

Thank goodness.

By the end of the day, Roman was feeling electricity running through him. He didn’t think he could go home and do something productive and static right now.

So, he called up the only person he wanted to see. Logan. Maybe they could go to the mall or go out for an extra early supper.

“Hello?” Logan asked from the other end. His voice had a sharp edge to it.

Roman put his phone on speaker and began pulling out of the school’s parking lot. “Want to chillax this afternoon? I just got out of the school. I can come pick you up. I don’t think I can stay at home on this beautiful June afternoon.”

Logan didn’t reply for a long time and Roman had to check his phone to make sure he hadn’t hung up on him.

“As long as you don’t bring up trying to find Raz.” Logan said bitterly. “I’m sick of you always talking about it.”

Roman didn’t even think. “Of course. No talk about finding Raz. Got it.”

“Good.” Logan said. “I’ll just pack some stuff to correct and I’ll be out at the front of the university in five minutes.”

Before Roman could protest (who brought stuff to correct on an outing?), Logan had hung up.

Roman got to the university in less than three minutes and, soon after, Logan walked out. Roman glanced at the dash and grinned. Exactly five minutes since their phone call.

“As always, very punctual.” Roman commented as Logan pulled himself into the passenger seat.

“Why are you surprised?” Logan asked, buckling himself in and putting his massive canvas bag at his feet. “I am always punctual.”

Roman grinned as he put the keys in the ignition. “So, where do you want to eat? We could go to—“

Logan rolled his eyes. “Why do you always ask? We always go to the same place.”

Roman shrugged. “Just making sure. What if you suddenly become sporadic and choose some place different?”

“I’m not messing with tradition.” Logan protested. “We’ve been going to the same place since we were in high school.” His eyebrows knitted together. “And when have I ever been sporadic?”

“Well, there was that one time,” Roman chuckled. “When you signed up for the soccer team on a whim.”

“I need exercise.” Logan protested. “The place where I normally walked went under construction—“

“Sure, sure, sure.” Roman grinned as he pulled up to Fairy Cakes and Fantasy Books.

The whole building was decked out in pink and glitter with fairy statues near the door, greeting customers.

The building was squat between a law firm and a grass lot that seemed to permanently hold a “For Sale” sign beneath it’s uncut grass.

It was far away from most of the city and pretty secluded.

Fairy Tales and Fantasy Books was a cafe and library all wrapped into one. It was mostly booked out for birthday parties and for special events.

Normally, it was empty. Like now.

“I can’t believe this place is still open.” Logan muttered. “And still looks pretty okay.”

Roman stepped out of the car and Logan did the same. The air felt thicker even though they were nowhere near the center of the city.

As Roman opened the door, a bell above tinkled and Logan patted the head of a statue of a fairy clad in pink and doused with a fine glitter.

“Ah! Roman and Logan! My favourite two customers!” The lady behind the counter exclaimed. She had her dyed blonde hair up in a bun and was wearing a green dress like Tinkerbell.

“Good afternoon Breena!” Roman called out, striding over to the desk where all the baked goods were.

Logan was immediately drawn to the books and he began to gravitate towards them.

The books were in the corner and the wooden bookshelves were covered in pink glitter and sparkly fairy stickers. Logan’s eyes read the spines.

Most of them were fantasy novels. Hence the name Fairy Cakes and Fantasy Books.

Logan recognized the Harry Potter series, the Lord of the Rings, the Chronicles of Narnia, and the Six of Crows duology. And, in the very middle, was the Pinnae series.

They were the American version. The cover was a glossy pinnae flower with an old time-y map as it’s background. They were all hardcovers.

The first book in the series, Pinnae: Forests and Flowers, was the only book here at the cafe that he had read. All the others he had bought himself.

Scrawled throughout the pages, however, young children had marked it with crayons and the pages were dog-eared again and again, some pages were missing corners altogether. It infuriated Logan to no end.

So, after he had finished the first book, he had bought the entire box set which included a complementary map of the world Raz had created.

“So, what’ll it be?” Breena asked, gesturing to all the pastries and cakes behind the glass.

Roman leaned against the counter, clicking his tongue while making his decision. “I think I’ll have the usual, Breena. Thank you very much.”

Breena grinned and slid open the glass, taking out three churros which had been rolled in pink, edible, glitter. The card next to them read “Fairy Wands”.

“And you Logan?” Breena asked.

Logan came up to the glass and peered inside. He’d been seeing the same baked goods since high school yet he could never really choose “a usual” like Roman.

“I think I’ll have two of those Fairy Cakes,” Logan finally decided, pointing to the powdered sugar topped Berliners.

Breena nodded and put two of the Berliners on a plate.

Once they had paid, Logan and Roman found themselves in their usual spot—in the back corner next to the fairy book display which included a couple of the Rainbow Magic series, the Artemis Fowl series, and The Spiderwick Chronicles.

“I literally love this place,” Roman sighed as he bit into his churro. “It always seems so magical to me.”

Honestly? Logan didn’t see it. All he saw was a cafe-library covered in pink and glitter and fairy pictures and drawings hung on the walls.

But he loved it all the same. Just not for the reasons Roman had.

He loved how the books were all Tetris-ed in the bookshelves perfectly. It was like an oddly satisfying video.

He loved Breena’s desserts even though he didn’t have much of a sweet tooth.

And lastly, the fact that it was almost always empty. While Breena probably hated that there wasn’t a lot of business, Logan was perfectly content eating Berliners with Roman in an empty cafe with books.

They sat in comfortable silence as they munched on their treats.

As always, Roman was the first to talk. “Guess what I saw today.”

“What?”

“I saw one of my students, Matilda, reading the first Pinnae book! I think she’s going to do her novel presentation on it too!” Roman grinned from ear to ear.

“I, as well, saw a student in my astrology seminar with a t-shirt with the pinnae flower on it.” Logan said, remembering the student and his green shirt.

Roman finished his churros in record time, Logan just starting his second Berliner.

He could feel the pressure building up in Roman’s voicebox, about to ask the inevitable question. Logan knew Roman couldn’t refrain from it. He never knew why he always made Roman promise not to bring it up when Logan knew for a fact Roman could never bite his tongue.

Roman shifted in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. “Logan…” he hesitated. “I know that I promised not to say anything about it but...could you please reconsider trying to find Raz?”

And there it was. Logan sighed and shoved the rest of the Berliner in his mouth to keep from screaming. He didn’t think he could handle Roman right now.

Roman twiddled his fingers like a child as he waited for Logan to chew and swallow the Berliner. “I just,” he sighed, “you’re so good at mysteries and stuff and—“

Logan swallowed and angrily shook his head. “No,” he hissed, trying not to raise his voice and alert Breena. “Roman, I’ve told you every single time you’ve asked: no. I will not find Raz for you. There is a reason Raz is anonymous.”

He didn’t know why right now, in a glittery cafe-library, he was finally breaking. After years and years of Roman asking, he had never really gotten mad or angry with him. Logan would just shake his head or logically explain why finding Raz was wrong, hoping it would get into Roman’s brain and he’d finally realize that his dream was unethical. Maybe it was pent up anger from all the years.

A small part in Logan’s brain reminded him of his theory that theazureflower and Raz might live in the same town.

He shook it away. Not now, he told himself.

Roman shrunk for a split second in his chair before seeming to come to his senses and lean forward and straighten his spine, meeting Logan’s height. “I understand why it’s wrong but don't you see it? Our blog could get so many new readers and we could become famous!”

“I’m not interested in becoming famous, Roman. Maybe that’s why I empathize with Raz so much.” Logan snapped back. “I’m not finding Raz for you.”

Roman wasn’t giving up that easily. And neither was Logan. He didn’t know how the two of them—both rather hotheaded—became friends, to be honest. Or, actually, stayed friends after all this time.

“What if—”

“—No, Roman. I won’t take any of your compromises. You’re atrocious at keeping promises. Like this one.” Logan inturpted, not in the mood for one of Roman’s compromises. “Oh! But what if we found Raz but didn’t tell anyone?” or “What if we found Raz and hinted at it on our blog to grab followers?”. Logan was sick of them. Roman would never keep Raz’s identity a secret after he knew, Logan was sure of it.

“This summer is perfect, though, Logan!” Roman exclaimed wildly. “It’s summer and you’ve got a couple of weeks from last summer we didn’t use!”

Logan gritted his teeth and brought his hands into fists. “Roman, for the last time, I am not—absolutely will not—find Raz Keeran for you.” His voice was loud and Logan prayed Breena wasn’t in earshot.

Roman slouched in his chair and sulked, rolling his eyes. “I bet I could find someone on Craigslist that could find Raz quicker than you anyway. They can be my new best friend.”

Logan felt his anger rise and rise until it consumed him. “Craigslist?” He repeated. “Craigslist?” He pounded a fist on the table, the plates slightly jumping off the table. He was better than any random person on Craigslist.

Logan heard the words come out of his mouth before he could logically go over the consequences. “Oh yeah? You think, Roman? Well pack your bags and book us two plane tickets to Mayflower Town. We’ve got some sleuthing to do.”

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helplessly-nonstop · 5 years

Text

Depression (B. Wyatt series)

Hey, it’s Cassie and I actually have a series for you this time! Description, would you be a doll and tel our lovely readers what they’ve stumbled upon!

Honey Bee, or the reader, is a poem blogger and they meet a depressed Abigail Wyatt. As time passes by, they grow closer. But an abusive relationship separates the two and on Honey Bee’s visit to Florida, they realize that it’s too little too late. It will be a three part series: Depression, Impression, and Succesion. Please enjoy and don’t repost to other sites. Because I will find you and I will end you. Cool? Cool. My beta was my favorite soulmate: @sporadic-fics! (Go read her stuff, I love it all)

WC:2454 (the next two parts will ((more than likely)) be longer)

Warnings: depictions of an abusive relationship, mentions of murder, thoughts of suicide, Klandy Borton is a garbage human, character death, mentions of child abuse, anyway, here we go! (GIF was found on Google)

I was a social butterfly on all counts and one person had confided in me when I had posted a poem about suicide on my blog. Her name was Abigail Wyatt and she admitted that she wasn’t having the best life that she could be living. She and her two brothers lost their parents when they were young and unfortunately was pushed into the foster system.

Years had passed and there was multiple families that neglected and abused them, until finally, the oldest brother turned eighteen and they were taken from foster care under his watch. I took her under my wing, even though we had never met in person, but from there, we traded war stories. I explained where I got my inspiration to write and she told me all about her brothers: Bo and Bray.

Bo was apparently very outgoing and she confided in me that she believed that he was gay, which made me giggle a little. When she asked me why I laughed, I informed her that in sets of three siblings, there’s usually at least one that is a member of the LGBTQ+ community. She laughed with me for a while then continued telling me about her family.

Bray was the quietest of the three, with an aura of danger surrounding him, and she stated that she was often worried about what he might do if he had to protect his siblings from serious harm. I assured her that she should have nothing to worry about, but to be honest, there was no way of being sure.

But things went from good to bad for Abigail after a while. She had met a man by the name of Randy Orton and she told me that she had loved him like she had never loved anyone before.

“Abigail, are you sure that you truly know what kind of person this guy is? I just don’t want you getting hurt, that’s all.” I stated, bumping my apartment door shut with my hip. My hands were full with groceries while my phone was squished between my shoulder and cheek, something that was definitely uncomfortable. When I realized that I didn’t get it closed all the way, I raised my foot and kicked it in to its place.

“Oh, Honey Bee, I couldn’t be more sure! He’s so sweet and considerate, never late to pick me up! He works at the police station here in town!”she informed me, a small, dreamy sigh leaving her throat. I gave a laugh and set my bags on the ground before kicking my shoes off my feet.

“All right, as long as you know you’re safe with him. I’m going to get off of here and make some dinner.Tell Bo that I said hello!”

“Oh don’t lie to me, Honey Bee, you’re going to order in Panda Express for dinner cause you don’t want to cook.”she scolded but her soft giggle assured me that she wasn’t truly shaming me. I gave a grin then ended the call, beginning to put my food away in the sections that it belongs to. I laid on my couch for a few moments and stared at the ceiling before I decided that I was going to succumb to my ridiculous addiction to Chinese takeout.

Forty five minutes passed and finally, my food arrived, allowing me to retreat into my room properly. A small chirp through my phone drew me away from my bingeing of Brooklyn Nine Nine and I rolled away to check who texted me and raised an eyebrow when I realized that it wasn’t just any number: it was Abigail: Leave her alone or I swear to God, you’ll fucking die.

I jerked up out of bed and stared at the screen, unsure of how to react to this message. Apparently Abby hasn’t told her boyfriend that her closest friend just happened to be a person halfway across the country. I paced the length of my room and finally paused, deciding that I would call her in the morning. She was obviously with Randy tonight and I didn’t want to risk her getting hurt because I want to discuss her possibly dangerous boyfriend.

I set my half eaten sweet and sour chicken in the fridge and returned to my bed, staring at my clock, hoping that I could fix whatever Abigail had gotten herself into with this guy before it was too late.

With a quick roll to the right, I hit the floor with a groan, looking through the window to see that it was now daylight and snowing. Fantastic.

I pulled myself back to my feet and checked my phone to see if I had received any new messages that I should’ve been worried about. Luckily, there was just one and it really was from Abby this time. I swiped upwards then pressed in my thumbprint before reading what she sent me,”Hey, sorry about that last text! Randy can get a bit jealous. Don’t worry, tho, explained it all!”

I hesitated on what I should say, my thumbs hovering over the text keys, then I decided that I needed to see her face when I asked her these questions that had been brewing in my head all night. I guess worrying about the possibility that your friend’s boyfriend is a psycho really doesn’t let you sleep at night.

“You home alone?” I sent back in return, hoping that she’d give me the okay to FaceTime her. A few seconds skimmed by then she answered, ”Yeah, Randy left for work early today.”

A small sigh left me, my shoulders dropping in relief, then I pressed the button to go ahead and call. It rang three times and she finally picked up on the fourth one, her face slowly coming into focus. But that’s when I noticed it.

“Oh my God, Abigail, do you have a black eye?!” I demanded, leaning forward for a better look. She brushed a timid hand over her injury and reassured me, ”It’s fine, I hit the door knob cause I slipped. No big deal, I promise.”

“Abigail, I don’t think you really know this guy. I mean, he threatened to kill me and he doesn’t even know me!” Her eyes flashed with uncertainty and I began to say something else when she rushed out,”It’s fine, I fixed it! He’s gonna change, I swear it, Honey Bee! It’s fine, now, please, can we just talk about something else?”

And stupid, idiotic me being me, I allowed her to change the subject. But things didn’t become fine and Randy most certainly didn’t change.

Months passed and I began hearing from my friend less and less frequently, something that was uncommon for her. Eventually, time for my semi annual visit down to Florida had arrived and before I knew it, I was getting settled in my usual little hotel that I stayed in. I decided to FaceTime her to make sure that she was at home, since it was Thursday and she didn’t work today.

Her phone rang four times and for a moment, I thought she was going to let me go to voicemail, when she finally picked up. A gasp escaped me at her appearance and I stared at her with my mouth agape, unsure on what to say.

Her cheek was swollen, her black eye barely concealed, and her bottom lip was busted. But really frightened me was the bruises maring her throat. It was obvious that she was at her house, but there had been drastic changes made.

“Abigail, what happened?” I murmured, pressing my hand to my mouth, as if it could stop the tears brewing in my eyes. She began to give an excuse when someone snatched away the phone, shouting,”Fuck off, it’s none of your fucking business!” And with that, the screen went dark. I stared at my phone for a few moments then finally, I acted on what I knew needed to be done. I called the emergency number for Brooksville, Florida, desperate to send help for my friend.

“Hello, 911, is everything alright?”

“No! No, I think my friend is in danger. I called her and she looks like her boyfriend is beating her! When I asked what happened, he took her phone and smashed it. Please, could you send someone out to check on her?” I rushed out as calmly as I could manage. The man on the other end paused for a quick second and I thought that he might’ve hung up on me then he asked,”Do you know what the address is?”

I began tossing items from my purse then finally dragged my planner out, flipping to all of the addresses I had written down and thankfully, I had Abigail’s. I recited it back to the operator and I could hear him clicking on the keyboard before he answered,”Okay, we are sending in a patrol car now to check on your friend. Do you know what the boyfriend’s name is?”

I began telling him it then paused, remembering one of the few details that Abigail provided me about this dick fuck: he worked at the police department. Cops had a history of hiding domestic abuse cases like this when one of their own was the abuser and I was not about to let Abigail be let down by a corrupt system.

“No, I’m sorry, I don’t. I hope that’s okay.” I apologized, fake sympathy leaking into my voice.

“It’s alright, not a problem. Alright, it sounds like the patrol car is there now. Would you like to stay on the line with me, see if your friend is okay right away?”

“Yes, please, you could.” Silence hit the line and I waited with bated breath to hear what was going on then I heard words that I never wanted to hear.

“Shots fired, shots fired! One officer down, suspect is deceased, victim is critical. We need a bus!” Faint shouting rose through the phone and I ended the call quickly, unsure of what to do. My hands fidgeted, tossing my phone back and forth, then finally, decided to go digging through our past conversations in search of her brother’s number. I knew I should’ve saved it when she first sent it to me.

Two hours passed and I was barely a month through our texts when my phone began ringing with the caller ID as someone from Brooksville, Florida. I quickly picked up then asked,”Hello?”

“Hi, I’m lookin’ for a person by the name of Hunny Bee?”a man questioned, his voice something of a phone sex operator. He had somewhat of an accent and I realized that I knew that drawl. It was Bray, Abigail’s oldest brother. He somehow got my number and was calling me, hopefully with intentions of delivering good news.

“This is them. Is Abigail alright?” I asked, nibbling on my nails. A small sigh escaped his mouth then he stated,”I think you need to meet us down at the hospital, sweetheart.” I paused at his statement then began nodding as I agreed,”Of course, I’ll grab a cab and be there in ten.”

I snatched my bag from the bed and darted out the door, already ending the call with Bray and dialing for an Uber.

I rushed into the hospital and slammed my hands on the desk, rushing out,”I’m looking for Abigail Wyatt.” The man running the desk looked upwards and said with a monotone, ”Can’t if you’re not family.”

“I’m her sister in law and I suggest if you don’t want her brother in your face, you need to fucking tell me what room they’re in.” I snapped, cracking my knuckles. He rolled his eyes and clicked a few tabs on the keyboard before informing me where they were.

I rushed upstairs and began scanning the room numbers for Abigail’s when I heard someone call my name. I turned on my heel and watched as Bo came into view.

“Bo! Have you heard anything yet?” I rushed out after he crushed me into a hug. He pulled away and I watched his face crumble, giving away exactly what fate my dearest friend had met. Another man stepped beside us and I immediately connected who it was: Bray, the oldest of the Wyatt siblings.

“By the time that the police had arrived, it appears that Randall shot her. They warned him to lower his weapon but instead, he fired at the cops who in return, shot him. I’m very sorry, but Abigail has passed.”he informed me and for a second, the briefest of moments, there was silence, then my mind shattered.

“No! She- she can’t be gone, oh my god, how could I let this happen,I should’ve known, I should have pushed her to get help.” I sobbed, my knees buckling from underneath me. Bray caught me by my arms and lowered me to the ground, allowing me to continue my breakdown. He petted my hair and informed me,”Abigail knew the risks. You did everything you could do, it’s not your fault that she didn’t heed the warnings you were giving to her.”

“But-but I could’ve helped her more, could’ve convinced her to break it off with him.”

“Sweetheart, even if she would’ve tried, I imagine that the same result would’ve came along. This will not fall on your delicate shoulders.” Bray assured me, bringing me to my feet. I let out a sniffle and he offered,”Let me take you back to the house, you can rest there. Bo and I have some… arrangements to take care of.” My mind filled in his pause and I gave a stiff nod, muttering,”All my stuff is back at my hotel though.” He rubbed a calloused thumb over my cheek and said,”If you give me your key, I will retrieve your items and bring it back. I don’t think you need to be alone right now.”

“I-I don’t know why I’m not comforting you… you’re the one who lost his sister.” I murmured, lifting my head. He gave a stiff smile and replied,”Indeed I did.. but you gave her life. After she met you, she was like a beacon for us. You blessed her with light when darkness was being to consume her very being. Thank you… for everything that you did for Abigail.” I nodded then he dropped Bo and I at the house to settle in while he went to go get my items from my hotel room. It was going to take a while for me to fully come to terms about what the hell had taken place over the last couple weeks.

#bray wyatt #bray wyatt series #bray wyatt imagines #bray wyatt angst #bray wyatt smut #in later chapters though #wwe imagines #bray wyatt writing #wwe writing #wwe angst #wwe stuff #wwe fluff #wwe smut #wwe #bo dallas #bo wyatt #abigail wyatt #sister abigail #honey bee

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aheartyouonceknew · 6 years

Text

The Love that nearly destroyed me.

This is a detailed account of my experience of my love with a blogger and ex fiance, this is my story.

(please forgive any grammatical errors)

A bit of back story, i met her through a family member. When we first met were attracted to each other almost instantly. We drove to Vegas and saw all the casino's and had a blast. As time went on we both grew even more attracted to each other and before the end of the first night we couldn’t keep our hands off each other. On the second night we are getting ready to go out and I am looking in the mirror and I jokingly tease 'would you date me? Id date me' while doing a silly flex.

'what are you gay or something?' She asks me.

'I say no im 100% sure im straight but I have made out with guys before and realised it wasn’t for me.'

She goes wide eyed and freezes up. I ask her what's wrong, but she refuses to look at me or even touch me. I then realised she actually may be homophobic, and I tell her im not gay. She is stone cold. I then realised she as a practicing Christian, that this was a big no no for her.

I tell her that’s all in the past, and that I am comfortable with who I am. She refuses to speak to me or look at me, so i give up and I leave the room upset.

Later that night after dinner, I see her again, she tells me not to talk about it again and we should just forget about it. We have a blast in Vegas, get very drunk. We have this amazing connection and attraction towards her. Sadly the trip had to end but we both decide to meet again.

A couple of days later i meet in her home town in a motel, met her little one and it was fantastic. That same night i get a message from my ex gf asking how my trip was. She glares at me, demanding to know who I was talking to. I panic and casually tell her 'just an old friend.' She demands to know who it is and asks me for my phone. I oblige, she tgen scrolls and see's old texts of my ex and i.

She flips out.

Bare in mind this was less then a week of knowing each other. I didn’t even get a chance to delete my Tinder (to which she saw). I tried to explain to her that this was all moving so fast and I hadnt had the time to sort all these things or even consider them at the time.

So we are in the motel room and she flips out, grabbing her things and is ready to leave. Im on my knee's telling her im sorry etc. She looks at me and asks me what I am willing to do to be with her. I say anything. She says 'ok delete and create a new facebook'.

Im shocked, over 10 years of memories and family photos? Gone?

I tell her I cant do that cause those were too sentimental.

She then decides she wants me to block and delete any female friends I had a relationship sexual or non sexual, she then demands I delete my Snapchat and Instagram accounts. I obliged.

The next thing I regret doing so the most, is to my ex gf of mine.

She tells me to message her, and tell her that I don’t ever want to talk to her ever again (within those terms). I did so, and I felt like a scumbag for hurting thst poor girl that did nothing ill towards me.

After a long hours talk of me asking for forgiveness, we make up.

A week later she decides to bring herself and her little one to my mums house to feel how we are together. My dream is to be a father and I would love her child like my own.

So we are at the house and it was the most perfect week of my life, it was bliss and I knew I wanted this. After the week ended I then realised I had one week left. We were both devastated as I had to fly back to Bali to work for my dad. I then wanted to prove my commitment to her (because I was in love with her at the time) .

So that night I went into my backyard while she was in the living room and dressed up in a black suit and lit an array of candles in my back yard. I messaged her to come out, and I was standing there, she smiled beautifully and kept laughing, I grabbed her by the had and said, 'I may not have much right now, so I cant give you a ring. But what I can give you is a promise that I want to share my life with you.' I then turned to her little one and gave a solem vow to protect her and care for her as my own.

The next day we contact her parents, and they are shocked and scared. Everything is happening so quickly, too quickly they say. But after a long talk, the father and mother gave me their blessing. I promised to take care of their daughter and gave them my word. Lots of tears of joy were shed.

The day arrives when I have to leave, I take the plane back and meet my dad and step mum. I told my dad that I was engaged and he gives me this sour look, 'you only knew her for less then a month, what do you know of love?'.

My dad had promised me work to build echo friendly villas, to which he promised me a stable income in which I could provide for her and her little one when they were here.

What my dad didn’t tell me was that a deal he had fell through, and that the money that was supposed to come in to build the resort wont be available so the resort building is postponed. He tells me I can work for him as a manager, but will only pay me when the business starts to take off and I show my worth.

I am furious.

I had this whole plan that I was relying on my dad, I believed in him to keep his word. Now that it had fell through not only did I feel like I lied to her but her family as well. I asked my dad would it be ok if she was welcome to come live here?

He said of course, I'll support her in any way I can. So I talked to my Fiance and she asks 'will he buy us the tickets?As I already spent hundreds of dollars on passports and luggage.'

I tell her he said any way he can.

I then have a conference call with my dad and fiance. My fiance asks when can he book the tickets for the trip?

I never said that he says.

He explains when he will support her anyway he can means when she gets here with her own money. (take in mind I left my old job in australia and have $0 to my name) So another lie in her eyes and to her family.

I talk to my dad and I tell him, if she cant be here then Im going back to the US, he says ok. ‘If you really love her I'll pay for your ticket’. I tell her about me going back, she asks if there is anything I can do to make some money? I tell her I have my camera and gopros that I could sell. She says 'good sell them' I hesitate, the camera's have sentimental value as they were the first gift my dad ever sent me. She then takes my hesitation as a message of unloyalty. She then yells abuse at me over and over, repeating my faults and telling her of her willingness to sacrifice everything. (to which I understand).

I then promise her to sell the cameras to get my tickets to the US as my dad has proven unreliable. But I hold back from selling the camera's, I don’t tell her about this as I am hoping my dad will follow through.

That night my dad is upset at me for coming here and giving up on the family for '' some chick in the US''. I felt torn on both ends, but I do love my fiance and I will fight for her. He tells me if that’s the case then I ill receive no support from him.

Later that night I responded to all the well wishes of the engagement, an old french high school friend (who is a lesbian) contacted me. I say thank you beautiful as I nickname her beautiful as I have always done. I then get a phone call of my fiance yelling at me saying I shouldn’t compliment any girl, and that I should be her main focus. I try to explain my reasoning but she wouldn’t listen so again I apologies and accept defeat.

A couple of days go by and my fiance asks if I had posted the cameras, I said not yet but I am doing so now. More hurled abuse, more fighting. I post the camera's and get terrible prices for them that would barely get me to the US.

Later that night my fiance calls me up, she is so happy. My mum and her have decided to pitch in to get me here, and that I can sell the camera's in the US for a better price. And that it would be best if we move to Australia together and when I get settled I can pay her and my mum back for the ticket.

But there was a catch,

I have to leave the next night. My fiance urges me to tell my dad of me leaving but I don’t. I hold off in telling my dad at the last second as he had my passport in holding, I feared he would refuse to give me my passport and not let me leave.

When i finally have the passport in my hands i decode to break the news to him.

He is devastated.

I then feel sorry for him and I give him one of my best go pro's to use for his surfing and that he can pay me whatever feels right. So later that night I fly to the US.

Once I arrived, we finally met. She decided to stay at my mothers house while my mother was in paris on a holiday, it would just be me and her.

It was as if a day had not gone by, the same feelings arose and all was well. I took care of her little one by changing the diapers, feeding, and playing. I was in bliss, I wanted to prove to her and show her I could do this. One thing that I never told her was I did feel a lot of shame how I left things with my dad, and I was quite upset, but I put on a smile whenever I could. Later that day i get a message from my dad and found out my dad decided to just pay me $100 ¼ of what the camera was worth, i kind of minded on the sale being so cheap.

She also was not happy, she yells at me, demanding that I pay her the money I owe her by selling the camera's. The next day I successfully sell part of my camera sets and pay her back and she is happy.

One day I am feeling very horny, I tease her and I am extra affectionate towards her. I tell her she is beautiful and does this to me and that I am so lucky to have a girl like her. As the day goes by I am still like a dog on heat. She leads me to the bed room. I get super excited and playful, she then pushes me away and says 'im going to masturbate now.' Im like 'awesome sure let me help'.

‘No, I dont want you touching me but we can masturbate side by side’.

At first I thought she was joking, but at the same time I am extremely hurt.

I think to myself...

'Did I do anything wrong?'

'Is she still attracted to me?'

So I am visibly upset I get up and put my clothes on and leave the room. After about 20 minutes she comes out and I am still upset at her. I tell her Im just going to lie down for a bit, she lays next to me and asks if im ok and apologises for not wanting to sleep with me as she wasnt feeling well. I then tell her don’t worry about it, I'll get over it. I then jokingly told her that I kinda went to lie down so I could masturbate as I needed to release myself.

She then leaves the room. I then emerge from the room relaxed and satisfied. She is scowling at me packing her bags.... She is furious that I decided to masturbate and demanded if I masturbated to other girls or to porn?

I am in disbelief as I felt like there were some double standards. It’s the hotel room all over again, I beg for her not to leave, but she decides to stay.

*Just a note, I respect a women's choice to refuse sex to a man if she doesn’t feel like it. But I cant help to feel upset.*

A couple of days go by my mother returns from paris and she goes back to her home town. We both plan on me visiting her family and me staying at her dads or sisters house while there. Unfortunately they both said they couldn’t house me. She then asks to sell the rest of the gear so I could rent a motel for us to stay. I agree. After the phone call i talk to my mum and tell her everything, my mum says that its only fair i pay her back as well, since i did so with Carolyn.

Yet again I am at a crossroads, but I made a promise to pay my mother back so I agreed to pay my mum. I told my fiance that I will still be seeing her but I would only stay for during the day as I cant afford the motel. She is furious, 'what about the money from the camera gear?' I try to explain to her. But she refuses to listen. Yelling above my voice not giving me a chance to speak she tells me not to come, and that she is sick of the empty promises I never fulfil. She removes our engagement status and blocks me on all forms of social media.

I am devastated, im a heaping sobbing mess to my mum. I love her I really do....I cry. I decided to accept things as they were, so I decided to install Tinder (more to which to heal my wounds and insecurities of being dumped). With the app installed im staring at the swipe screen, and I just cant do it. So I uninstall the app.

I decided to heal the bridges I destroyed and contacted my old ex. I call her just telling her i was sorry for what I had said/done.

'You really hurt me, you really really hurt me' she cried. I cried.

'But I forgive you, because I don’t believe in holding onto hate.' I cry again.

After the talk I felt better that she accepted my apology, but sad knowing things may never be as they were. But it felt good to hear her laugh again.

Later that night I was trying to relax when I get a phone call.

Its my now ex fiance.

I ask her what does she want? She then tells me she didn’t feel like things ended correctly and wanted to make things right. I had enough

Correctly? None of this has ended correctly. I yell.

I tell her that the real reason she is calling is to mask this guilt, I told her I did my best with the cards I was dealt but it was never enough. But to know I at least tried and never gave up on her. The real person who is given up is you.

I then hung up. (and yes that was dramatic as it was in the heat of the moment).

She calls me back, and I ask her. Do you really love me? Yes shes tells me. My heart ache's.

I then tell her that i love her and that I will see her tomorrow to have a real talk.

The next day I take the train to see her, she hops out of the uber and is skipping towards me in a joyful mood. Im cold and numb by this point, i have an emotional barrier up. She hugs me, kissing my arm etc.

'Lets talk.'

We go into the café and sit across from each other in an awkward silence. I tell her I am doing the best I can, and that I believe once I am in control of my own life in Australia we can finally have a normal life. She tells me she loves me and wants that too. She wants things to work, and I really felt like she does. We make up and everything is perfect again, but then she stops and has this smile...Like she is looking forward to something.

She then asks, 'Did you install Tinder?'

I am completely caught off guard and blurt out 'no', as I uninstalled the app. She pulls out the phone in this satisfied smile and ask 'then whats this?' Showing my tinder profile.

I tell her that yes, i installed it but never used it.

'have you been talking to any other girls on social media?'

I decided to tell the truth.

‘Yes, my ex...but only to sa-’,She then gets up and leaves

'if your talking to her again why don’t you just be with her.' And she walks out.

And that’s when I felt like I was done, emotionally just done.

A couple weeks have gone by, and she's moved on.

Although I do look her up from time to time, I am glad that she is happy, I decided to tell this story because I felt like this is part of my healing process. I really did love her. But i dont think she ever loved me.

I felt like she loved the idea of me being a father role, but never really loved me.

She is a hypocrite in most cases on her stances towards men, but that is her reality. I respect her beliefs and her views to empower women but at the same time its contradictory, I dont judge her on her stance towards homosexuality or if religious views.

I moved my life for a love that never deserved or appreciated me, the control factor is scary. The mind games of her holding onto that tinder info waiting to use it on me like a loaded gun showed me she enjoys the control over men.

But don’t get me wrong, this poor girl has been through so much and I understand her distrust towards men (its why I put up with everything). At the same time I do feel sorry for her because of the men in her past has left her broken, its the sad fact of one persons crazy is another persons reality.

If any of you that read this, that has suffered from emotional abuse please dont hesitate to reach out.

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dee6000 · 3 years

Text

Ilhan Omar Illegally Married Her Gay Brother to Help Him Commit Immigration Fraud

The family of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Mogadishu on the Mississippi) plays a big part of her brand. Her grandfather was in charge of the light houses of Somalia and her father was a teacher. Then, suddenly, all sorts of people in Somalia wanted to kill them so they had to become refugees to save themselves from their neighbors’ wrath, which gives her moral dominion to lecture Americans on how to order our affairs.

And to be fair, her family dramas are pretty interesting. For example, her father the “trainer of teachers” turns out to be a colonel in the genocidal army of dictator Siad Barre, which might help explain why other Somalis tried to kill them as soon as Siad Barre fell at the end of the Cold War.

Siad Barre, who had started out as a policeman under the Fascist Italian colonial regime, saw the truth of Marxism-Leninism in the 1960s when Moscow started sending aid to Third World dictatorships. But then in the late 1970s Somalia took its Soviet-supplied tanks and invaded its fellow leftist neighbor Ethiopia with Rep. Omar’s dad playing a role. But Brezhnev said, what do we need this hothead troublemaker for? and sided with much bigger Ethiopia, which duly defeated Somalia’s invasion. In one of the more depressing low points of the Cold War for the U.S., Siad Barre suddenly discovered the glories of capitalism and became an American client, and after that mostly tended to wage genocideagainst internal rebels like the Isaaq clan.

Rep. Omar, another hot-blooded Somali, has gotten married four times: first to the Somali father of her children, then she got divorced and had a small town minister in rural Minnesota, far from the Somali community, marry her in a Christian ceremony to an extremely effeminate Somali man who is widely rumored to be some sort of brother of Omar. She soon divorced the gay guy and remarried the father of her kids. Then she divorced him and married the white campaign consultant whose marriage she’d broken up.

And then they all lived happily ever after.

Or perhaps not, we’ll see.

The Daily Mail has a good rundown on the background:

Claims that Omar and Elmi, 36, are siblings have been rampant for years. The allegation is that they married so Elmi, a British citizen could go to school in the United States. He followed Omar to North Dakota State University.

Lazzaros’ website says: ‘Rep. Omar was a U.S. Citizen for a decade and her brother/ex-husband Mr. Elmi was a UK Citizen.

‘This is purely a crime of convenience, by an individual with extremely poor ethics now representing hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans in Congress. There was absolutely no threat to these individuals causing them to commit multiple felonies while living in the two wealthiest countries in the world seeking reduced tuition at a public University.

Omar, who was first elected to Congress in 2018, has never fully addressed the question of whether she is related to Elmi. While serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives she did issue a press release in which she called the allegations ‘absurd and offensive.’

In her memoir, This Is What America Looks Like, published last year, she claims she hardly knew him when they married, saying: ‘I had a Britney Spears-style meltdown, I not only eloped with a man — whom I spent so little time with that I wouldn’t even make him a footnote in my story if it weren’t for the fact that this event turned into the main headline later on — but I shaved my head.

‘Yes, like the beleaguered pop star, who shaved her head in 2007, I took clippers to my own head. Too many headaches, too little sleep — I had to flee myself, my relationships, my hair.

‘The difference between Britney and me is that I wore a hijab, so nobody knew what I had done — except my children who were very surprised. ”Mommy looks like me,” Adnan (her young son) declared. And he was right, I did look like a little boy.’

She didn’t even name Elmi in her memoir.

But others have long claimed that she married him so he could go to school in the United States. She had come to America as a refugee fleeing war in her native Somalia, but he had taken up British nationality.

He followed her to North Dakota State University, after their marriage in 2009. A Christian minister performed the ceremony despite the fact that both are Muslim.

Somali blogger Abdihakim Osman Nur told DailyMail.com in February last year that he had known Omar growing up and suddenly her brother arrived in Minneapolis.

At the time Omar was married to Ahmed Hirsi — who she later remarried. They have since divorced and in March 2020 she married Mynett, her chief fundraiser.

‘No one knew there had been a wedding until the media turned up the marriage certificate years later,’ Nur said, about the Elmi-Omar marriage.

‘People began noticing that Ilhan and Southside were often with a very effeminate young guy,’ Osman said, referring to Hirsi by his nickname.

‘He was very feminine in the way he dressed — he would wear light lipstick and pink clothes and very, very, short shorts in the summer. People started whispering about him, added Nur, who spoke in Somali through an interpreter.

‘Southside and Ilhan both told me it was Ilhan’s brother and he had been living in London but he was mixing with what were seen as bad influences that the family did not like,’ added Nur.

‘So they sent him to Minneapolis as ”rehab”.’

Nur said that Omar kept her marriage to Elmi quiet, with no one from the Somali community invited to the wedding that was held at a county office in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

He explained: ‘When Southside and Ilhan got married, a lot of people were invited. It was a big Islamic wedding uniting two large clans in the Minneapolis community.

‘I would say there were 100-150 people there.’

But he said: ‘When she married Elmi, no one even knew about it.’

Nur said he believed Elmi and Omar sought out someone outside the Somali community to conduct the ceremony because an imam would have known they were related and would have refused to marry them.

The marriage was conducted by Christian minister Wilecia Harris. When DailyMail.com approached her in 2019 she would not discuss the ceremony or why a Muslim couple would have asked her to marry them.

In a Facebook message, Harris’s husband Marcus told DailyMail.com: ‘My wife doesn’t want to be involved or interviewed about Congresswoman Omar.’

‘It’s not going to happen, not now and not never.’

So now some organization is claiming to have obtained DNA off a cigarette and a straw from the two ex-spouses that proves they are siblings. (How you would prove chain of custody sounds daunting.) A conservative operative who posted the DNA results was then immediately arrested on charges of sex trafficking minors.

So, lots more entertainment is likely in store, although it will no doubt mostly be covered by British tabloids rather than by the US prestige press.

And with the Taliban running amok in Afghanistan at the moment, we no doubt can look forward to a future of being lectured to by future hijab-wearing Afghan Congresswomen whose wealthy clan got ran out of Afghanistan in 2021. To paraphrase Che Guevara, American can look forward to two, three, many Rep. Omars.

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wanderbitesbybobbie · 4 years

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ON TRAVEL WRITING: HOW I MADE MONEY OUT OF IT

WARNING: This is a very long entry about how I managed to make a profit out of Travel Writing. If you hate long narratives, you may find shorter stories on this blog. But if you have time to spare and interested to set-up your own travel blog, then you might get something out of this.

Unlike many of the “millenial” travelers today, I did not start as a solo traveler. I have always wanted to be a digital nomad, but that’s not exactly how I started. I did not quit any corporate jobs to backpack around the world like how most of them did it. My first experiences of traveling were mostly shared with my mom as I tagged along her business trips out of town. I was in high school when I first got to see the outside world. My views and opinions did not matter. I was a kid. I did not care about budgets, or where we’ll be staying, or what the itinerary would be like, or what food are we eating. All I wanted was to to collect fridge magnets, t-shirts, and key chains (which I still do until now). There was no social media back then and traveling was not yet a hype. If not with my family, I go with my friends, so most of my early travel memories were shared with them.

TO TRAVEL – it’s everybody’s dream. To get to travel to somewhere is a privilege. Not everyone can travel as they please, so if you can fly with ease, then better get the most out of it. But making money out of traveling is a different story. As you search through the web for your next destination, you will probably see real-life travelers living the dream. But on top of it all, you see “successful” travel writers advertising a destination or an accommodation, with alluring photos of them in a tropical island, sipping on cold champagne while working with their laptops. Some of them with the same slogan, “I left my 9 to 5 job to travel the world and here I am now. Remotely working as a travel writer.”

When Travel Blogging was not yet a thing.

While being a travel writer can be a lucrative sideline, some people might see it as a stable source of income to sustain a life of travel. I’ve started talking about this on my recent Instagram post and I promised to write about it for anyone interested to join the bandwagon. Before you jump off the cliff with blindfolds on, let me take you back to how I started as a travel writer, how I made money out of it, and some myths about travel writing.

HOW I PAVED MY WAY TO THE MAGAZINE WORLD

Like I said, I was in high school when I started traveling. None of my sentiments mattered to anyone reading them. Except this one time when my high school reprimanded me for a “frivolous” blog post. That would be another interesting story to tell. Anyway, I just started writing on my personal blog and posted live journals online. There was no Facebook, I didn’t know anything about WordPress, Instagram was not yet a thing. All I knew about were these websites called “Xanga” and “Multiply”, where I uploaded most of my photos and where I wrote my “whatevers”. I never thought about quality content, and I didn’t care if anyone would read it. My journals were mostly trivial, but it didn’t bother me. I was born to write, and each time I had something in mind, I had to write it down.

My writing style has evolved throughout the years. From writing whatever under the sun, I finally started writing with actual content. I wrote about my day-to-day experiences. I wrote a lot about my food recipes. I wrote about restaurants and what I liked and disliked. It never occurred to me that I was already finding my niche, and that is to write about travel and food. I never thought I would gain readers out of it. My friends and colleagues started to ask me how I got into a certain place or how I found this certain restaurant or hotel. I started writing more while having fun.

Years passed, my platforms have changed. I graduated from college, passed culinary school, worked and met different people, been to places, IN SHORT, I grew up. From “Multiply”, I was on “BlogSpot”, writing more meaningful articles that readers actually read. Eventually, one publishing company was interested to hire me as a chef contributor for their Food and Health Magazine. I never thought twice. I instantly said YES! This was my first ever writing stint, and I was getting paid for it. In that particular magazine, I had my own food column. I was proud to see my name on that local magazine and having my articles published were worthy achievements for me.

TRAVELING AND WRITING: THEN AND NOW

While I wrote about food and while I developed recipes for the magazine, I was working for my self-owned cafe. I was not a full-time writer. I worked hard every single day because I wanted to achieve something. I set a goal. The magazine was just a sideline. Although they paid me well, I was sure that my monthly column was not enough to make a living out of it. I needed an upgrade and I knew since then that I had to make the most out of my writing if I wanted to be successful in this field. My goal was to travel at my own expense, but I never thought about sharing my do-it-yourself itineraries to anyone. I never thought it would matter. So fast forward to 2016, it had been a year of travel for me. I traveled from one island to another. There were days when I would only rest at home for a week, and travel again the following week. It is liberating to travel by yourself, deciding on things on your own, and having to search for the cheapest deals to be able to stretch the budget. I was finally doing it. It was a whole new level of self-discovery.

Adelaide: where I backpacked for a couple of days and visited friends along the way

Traveling with my family and my friends versus traveling by myself led me to a new understanding of what it was to be traveling. It wasn’t just a sense of bonding with your favorite people, but it was also about discovering new things. Eventually, my friends wanted me to share my travel stories. They sent me messages and inquired about my DIY itineraries. THAT WAS IT! I was upgrading my blog. I couldn’t keep up with answering everyone’s questions every time so I decided to write everything on one complete page so I can just send them links. I decided to create WanderBites by Bobbie on a free WordPress account. I too aspired to be a successful travel blogger. I did what I thought it would take to be a successful travel blogger. I went to different places in and out of the country, immersed myself in cultures, learned new languages and cuisines, met new people, and then I wrote about everything. At this point, I wanted to maximize what I had. I have to create a website and monetize my blog. I wasn’t just writing anymore, I was trying to make a living out of it like how I saw the others were doing. The hunger for SUCCESS was there!

But it came to me rather early, the realization that the word “SUCCESS” is subjective. I cannot emphasize this enough. For my fellow full-time travel writers, success is gaining more followers on social media. Who wouldn’t want that, right? For some, you have to pay a certain price to reach a certain level of following. That is how they advertise and sell themselves. That is how they get their contents and freebies. As a blogger, you have more earning opportunities when you have good traffic. But to me, that is not how I perceive my success. I never wanted to be a “social media influencer”, in fact I couldn’t be one. My closest friends know about this, and it’s something I never shared with anyone on my blogs. Though I have unknowingly “influenced” people to do something, I suck at this whole social media influencing thing. I just want to write. So for me, SUCCESS IS SIMPLE. To be able to send my thoughts across is already success for me. That is why I write. The income is secondary.

WRITING FOR MAGAZINES AND WEBSITES

My travel blog gained readers. Though none of my articles ever went viral, some of my travel photos did in the traveling world. The Philippine Department of Tourism noticed this, and I was sent an e-mail for a possible collaboration. That was the start of my traveling career. I wasn’t just writing about food, I have been promoted as food and travel writer and photographer. On top of that, I was helping my country’s tourism campaign. My photos became a part of the official website. More e-mails came requesting for my travel photos, some offering free dining and accommodations, some were willing to pay in cash. And the more they came, the more excited I got. It was then that I told myself, good experiences can be converted to cash so I have to give myself extraordinary experiences.

This was how Trip Magazine endorsed me as their contributor.

At some point, I was at my peak. I was able to offer my services to some hotels and restaurants. I invested so much on writing and on traveling, and every time I would be offered anything for free in exchange of write-ups, I felt like I was gaining the returns of my investments. I have now become a writer with a niche on food and travel. My friend, Joan, an editor for a huge travel magazine then asked me if I wanted to be a contributor for their magazine. It was Trip Magazine owned by 2Go Travel and Shipping Line. That was my biggest break in the travel writing business. Trip Magazine offered to pay my travel stories and my photos that came along with it. Each photos were worth a certain price, depending on how big it would appear on the magazine. Since then, hotels and restaurants started to come to me. I was able to pitch some of my personal articles for bigger travel websites, and my travel sideline grew exponentially.

IT’S NOT ALL THAT

From a plain old blogger, I was able to make it to the magazines and international websites. I had to make myself acquainted with the travel writing norms. To be a travel writer, you have to exceed the expectations of your clientele. You don’t just deliver. To be able to write a good (if not great) content, you have to go out and see the world. That is the only way. You cannot just Google that destination and re-write a whole new article. No one would pay for that crap. Travel Writing means you are not traveling for vacation anymore. To us, TRAVEL MEANS WORK. To be able to send proper contents to the editors, you have to take everything into consideration, not just your personal experience. Wherever you are going, you have to think as a journalist and view things in the perspective of your reader. It’s not just about simply writing about where you’ve been or what you had for dinner anymore. A very remarkable quote would always ring a bell every time I write an article for my clients. According to Tim Leffel , “Don’t forget that the easiest stories to sell are the ones that truly do a service for the reader.” No travel magazine or website would pay for a story about your close encounter with Nemo. Especially if your client is paying in cash, then it better be read-worthy.

Here’s another tip. If you want to be able to thrive in this business, of course, writing is a skill you have to hone for years. But if you want your “clients” to pay you the extra $$$, you have to give them outstanding photos that go along with your manuscript. In my case, I bring my DSLR if I’m traveling for work. I always have my GoPro with me, just in case I feel like pitching a new destination or a new dining place. That way, I can simply give my editors supporting photos of what I have written on my article. They wouldn’t have to look for stock photos from some old websites. Your photos have to be in the highest resolution possible, especially if it would be a feature article or a full-page photo on a travel magazine. Travel Writers and Photographers get paid more than being just Travel Writers, as the publishing company can save tons on labor. They wouldn’t have to hire another person to do the photography for you. So, investing in a good camera is another way to increase your value (but please make sure you know how to use it). Your mobile photos can be saved for your Instagram feeds, thank you.

If you are a travel writer heavily relying on the travel profits, rest would pretty much be a luxury you couldn’t afford. Especially if your trip is “all-expense-paid”. Your time and effort, and your entire experience is paid-for. So you have no right to slack. No matter how fatigued you are, you have to get your self going, not only physically but mentally. How would you be able to write your content if you are snoozing the entire time while you are on 4-hour land travel? You have to feel it, you have to describe it. You have to write what you see, what you smell, what your experience was. But don’t get me wrong. You also have to rest, but being in this industry means you have to manage your time well. Remember, you are traveling not for yourself.

On a train from Sydney to Canberra, finishing an article for a Travel Website deadline.

SOME MYTHS DEBUNKED

Being a Travel Blogger is your instant way to stardom. Unless you have a good following and traffic and google ranking, it’s not that easy to achieve this. There are a lot of travel bloggers like you who aspire the same things as you. Especially now that budget airlines and cheap resorts made traveling very accessible to anyone. Aside from your pretty face and cool photos, what sets you apart from the other travel bloggers?

Your next destination is your next content. WRONG. If you have this kind of mindset, then you’re merely writing for a journal entry. Your next destination is not an assurance that your article will be published. Why? BECAUSE EVERYONE HAS BEEN IN THAT LOCATION, NOT JUST YOU. Always put that in mind. Unless you have a whole new attack on this destination, and you managed to give it another point of view, then you probably have a slight possibility that it would get approved and published.

Travel Writers make instant tons of money out of traveling. WRONG. It’s not an overnight process. It takes years to be able to pull it off. There are very successful travel writers who were able to make steady income out of traveling, but there’s only a handful of them and most of them have written life-changing books and multiple travel guides on your local bookstore shelf. There is no such thing as stable income during your first years as a travel writer. You might be able to make let’s say $500 for one project, $900 dollars for the next, but you’ll never know when your next gig or offer will happen. Unless you already have your name listed on the big traveling networks, which you will get invited for free travel events, then no. You pay for your hotel or your own airfare to write a content.

I would love to write more about Food and Travel Writing and how people’s perception of it has changed the travel journalism culture. As I’ve said, it’s not all colorful rainbows and unicorns. This article 7 Myths About Travel Blogging by Tim Leffel may change your views about this industry.

STILL CHOOSE TO WRITE, NO MATTER WHAT!

If you have reached this part of this article, then I congratulate you. Not everyone loves to read long narratives. It’s a gift! Your diligence will take you to greater heights. I am not an expert, but no matter how daunting it is, I still urge you to continue to write! I never stopped writing from the very beginning. Write about your experiences, don’t be afraid to share them. Stick to your voice. You might feel like no one is listening, but you will be surprised with how the world pays attention. Ask if you must, and pitch your heart out, even if you feel like you would get a “no”, ask anyway. Nowadays, in our very modern world, the stage is all set for you. You just have to maximize technology and use whatever platform that is in front of you. Your curiosity about the world, your persistence, and your commitment will take you to unimaginable places. I wouldn’t go to some places I’ve been if it wasn’t for travel writing.

You are, after-all, a discerning traveler to start with, who happens to be a writer too. You wouldn’t be reading this blog if you weren’t interested about travel writing anyway. You have the whole world ahead of you. And no one is stopping you on your head start!

Write! Write! Write! And most of all ENJOY! Love what you do, and do what you love! If you take this to heart, you will see the world more on a greater extent. 🙂

ON TRAVEL WRITING: HOW I MADE MONEY OUT OF IT was originally published on WanderBitesByBobbie

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randomcitizen12 · 7 years

Text

Beyond the Firewall - Shadilver

*ping* You have a new message

The alert was enough to snap an ebony hedgehog from his thoughts and hurriedly grab his phone. It was an email from no other than the hedgehog he was meeting today for the first time

[So where are you now? I'm already at the restaurant]

-Absolute.Dreamer15

The jet black mobian smiled and sent back his own reply.

[I'm already on the bus. Just entered the city vicinity, I should be near]

-HxllowCost19

Smiling, he put his phone back in his pocket and stuffed his hand in his jacket, leaning against the cold glass window.

It was odd, how two people who have met online are going to meet in person for the first time. He remembers how he came to know about the young hedgehog; it was on a blog, and he was merely stating his opinion about a popular band, and how that one particular song wasn't appealing to him, and immediately the young male was bashed with 'avid fans', saying that he was an immature 9 year old and should go fuck himself and die and how he doesn't know the band and should just shut up. He found it funny; how those people who claimed themselves to be mature were the ones acting childlike, whilst the other hedgehog was actually being sensible and tried to be reasonable. Note the word tried. Shadow felt bad for the young blogger and decided to send him a little message on how he shouldn't listen to the assholes who bashed him for having a different opinion on something they liked and commended him for stating his opinion on public. The other thank him for his kind words.

From then on they continued to talk to one another, and they discovered that they have so much in common; taste in music, political views, preferences, and even if they had things they couldn't agree on, they respected each other's opinion. Soon, simple messages went to a more personal level of talking, where the younger hedgehog introduced himself as Silver, and Shadow introduced himself as well. Neither of them have heard what the other sounded like, nor what they even looked like.

More talking and after a year of seeing each other online, they both decided to meet up in real life. But since Silver was only 17 and feared he'd get lost, the older hedgehog offered to go to his city instead since he recently turned 19.

*ping* You have a new message

[I took a window seat so it should be easy to find me. I'm wearing a turquoise flannel shirt]

-Absolute.Dreamer15

[You sure like the color turquoise don't you?]

-HxllowCost19

[Oh quiet you XP It's a pretty color. Are you close yet? I'm getting kinda bored sitting here, and I have already beat my 2048 highscore of 248948]

-Absolute.Dreamer15

A chuckled left the ebony male's mouth.

[Well, I could see that I'm almost near, I'm close to the next bus stop anyway. What did you say was the name of the restaurant again?]

-HxllowCost19

[Papa Louie's Pasta and Pizza. I'm excited to finally see you in person! But don't expect me to talk to you even if we have known each other for a while. Haha I'm awkward around new people]

-Absolute.Dreamer15

[But... I've known you for a year now]

-HxllowCost19

[I told you.. I'm weird]

-Absolute.Dreamer15

[Heh, don't worry about it. Oh wait, the bus just stopped, I'm getting off. I should be near then]

-HxllowCost19

Shadow placed his phone back in his pocket and got off of the bus. Taking in the sight of the city, he couldn't help but be amazed at the scenery before him; it's no wonder Soleanna is such a highly praised city! He quickly scanned for any restaurant that was named 'Papa Louie's Pasta and Pizza'. It took him a while, but when he saw the ivory boy by the window, he could've sworn his heart stopped; he was finally meeting the hedgehog who has captivated him! A smile was flashed at his direction once Silver's golden hues landed on him and was greeted with a wave through the glass window. Smiling back, the ebony male made his way into the restaurant, and there he sat in front of the younger boy.

Silver sheepishly grinned, glancing from the dark male in front to another part of the table. Knowing it was rude not to talk, he took out a piece of paper and began writing on it.

"Hey, nice to see you finally.. I told you I wouldn't talk. or. too shy to talk. Sorry about that"

He handed the paper to Shadow, his peach muzzle turning a faint pink hue. Shadow, who understood, smiled then took out a piece of paper of his own and began writing as well.

"It's okay, I understand. Do you want anything to eat? I can order for us"

"oh, no that's okay, while you were gone I already orderd ordered my food. You can order yours when the waiter comes back"

Silver grimaced at the mistake he made. Chaos did he feel anxious and his hands were shaking; Shadow was finally in front of him in person!

With this Shadow gave a small nod then began to write once more.

"How long have you been waiting? I hope it wasn't too long"

"oh no. I've just been here for 10 minutes; it's not that long of a wait"

a small smile made it's way to Silver's face.

Shadow let out a light scoff as his red pools glanced at the younger hedgehog and back at his paper to write out his answer.

~***~

Their lunch continued on like this, exchanging words through paper, a fresh change of pace to their usual digital conversation. It was also a fresh change to be able to see the one you're conversing with despite the lack of words being spoken to one another. They shared laughs and smiles throughout their meal, their words and jokes only kept between the two recipients and away from listening ears as they wrote paper after paper of replies in the restaurant. Silence accompanied them but the silence that accompanied them was comfortable, welcomed even, between the young friends.

It was Silver who broke their silence first "So, which part of Soleanna would you like to go first?" He asked in a soft, meek voice and Shadow smiled; this was how he imagined what Silver's voice would sound like; something like soft bells in the wind.

"Wherever you recommend" Was the dark hedgehog's reply.

"Oh Solaris from above; his voice is sooo much hotter than I could ever imagine!"

The ivory male squealed internally. This was it! He in now officially talking with the man who had made his life much more bearable!

And the pair went around Soleanna, sharing more stories between each other, this time with actual dialogue and even more laughter and life. Silver pulled Shadow into a small fair since the city was preparing for the Sun Festival, which the older male gladly following him. He wasn't much of an outdoor person per se, and preferred to stay away from crowded places like this. But for the ivory hedgehog, he would let himself get out of his comfort zone, and get away from his urban life, even for a while.

After all, he is visiting another city; might as well make the best out of the experience right?

"The Sun Festival will be starting in a few hours, so let's have fun until the splendid fireworks show! I can bet you my right arm you'll enjoy the show!" The silver hedgehog chirped, much to the amusement of the other.

"Bet your right arm? That's a high wager now, don't you think?" Shadow chuckled. Silver simply shook his head and grinned.

"That's how confident I am that you will enjoy the fireworks show"

"Well then, I'm expecting that I won't be disappointed"

Silver flashed another smiled at him, and Shadow swears his heart feels like it'll leap right out of his chest whenever he sees it. He couldn't help but smile as well.

"Trust me, you won't be"

~***~

It was a few minutes until the start of the Sun Festival and Silver and Shadow were lining up to get to the Ferris wheel; Silver insisted that they'd watch from there because the main plaza would be jampacked with people and most of the roads were closed for the events, and they didn't have enough money to rent a boat to watch from the sea, so this was the next best thing.

With them, they carried the many prizes they've won through the many games and booths they've tried. Shadow was good with shooting games, Silver realized. As in really good. His accuracy was incredibly on point that it was sort of scary actually. Shadow won the big elephant stuffed toy on the top shelf, and gave it to Silver, much to the latter's embarrassment and declined.

The dark hedgehog insisted, saying that he didn't really have enough space in his house to keep a large stuff toy, and carrying something that big in the bus would be a hassle to the other commuters. Plus, he said that he wanted to give Silver a sort of souvenir to remember him by for the wonderful tour around Soleanna. This statement made the shy hedgehog's face red and cover it with the said stuffed toy.

Finally getting onto the ride, Silver sheepishly sat himself on the opposite side of Shadow. Once the Ferris wheel began it's slow ascent, the latter spoke "Well, this is it. Just five more minutes until the festival" his deep voice broke through Silver's thoughts, catching him off-guard.

"Y-yeah! Are you excited??" Silver's pitch became a bit too high

"Is something the matter?" Shadow asked, with Silver nodding furiously

"yup yup! I'm fine as a daisy!"

Somehow, Shadow wasn't buying it.

"Tell me what's wrong; please?" Shadow's ruby orbs showed worry, and Silver couldn't say no to him; not when his crush was staring at him like that. With a sigh, he answered.

"It's just been a while since I've watched the Festival with somebody. I think I told you that I'm living alone before, yes?" When Silver saw him nodding, he continued "As I've said, both my parents are working overseas to make ends meet, and to send me to a really good school. And I want them to be proud of me and show them that their efforts aren't in vain, so I always do my best in class and try to keep my scholarship."

They were halfway through the ride now, almost getting to the top. Shadow simply hummed; Silver has told him this before.

"And I do want to help my parents earn some money too, so I have a part-time job at the town's library; cataloging books and keeping record of everything. So it's just been a while since I've had somebody to enjoy the Festival with.." Golden eyes kept their focus on the floor, as ivory arms wrapped around the stuffed animal tightly. The younger male only looked up when he felt a warm hand on his thigh, comforting him, and beautiful ruby orbs looking at him.

His face became flushed.

And Shadow gave him a warm smile "Well, you're with somebody now right? Don't worry, I'm here."

The snow-furred male returned a small smile of his own.

'Yes, you are; you've made my lonely life even more bearable. That's why I've come to love you so much'

"I'm glad you are, and I can't thank you enough for travelling all the way here from Westopolis just so you could spend some time with me" he said sheepishly. The darker male simply nodded.

'Of course. I'd gladly travel anywhere for you no matter how far; you made me feel complete, made me feel that I do matter'

"I've been meaning to get away from my mundane life; a breather such as this is exactly what I needed. Also, I've been wanting to meet you for the longest time" Shadow replied. Then Silver had a thought.

"Hey Shadow; you're really good at shooting games. Do you practice a lot at home?" He asked. Shadow merely scratched his head.

"Well.. I have relatives that works for G.U.N, and I'm being taken as an intern there as a field agent. I get to practice using actual guns there"

"Whaat, really?? That's so cool!!!" The younger one exclaimed, his amber eyes bright.

"I guess; it get's hectic, but I guess it's okay"

Ivory ears perked then he looked out the window, a wide grin on his face "It's starting; look Shadow!" He said as he pointed to where the town's plaza was. From their current height they could oversee the entire town.

Ruby eyes followed and Shadow was at awe at the fireworks show; the different spectacle of lights exploding in the night sky, painting the evening sky with a plethora of colors. Music can be heard playing in the air, the bass thumbing in beat with their hearts. Cheers from the crowd echoed throughout the entire city, shaking his very core.

Soleanna is one festive city; he couldn't remember the last time Westopolis had a celebration as grand as this.

"This is about to get even better" The younger male said with a cheeky grin as the royal family arrived in a large gondola to the very heart of the city.

"Why? what's happening?"

"shh... Just watch"

Squinting his eyes at the other, Shadow returned his gaze to the center of the city. There was silence now, then suddenly bright, shining orange flames spread from where the royal family stood and onto a large pattern adorning the center; the shape of the sun god Solaris, illuminating throughout the city as fireworks started once more. The citizens continued with their celebration. By now they were at the very top of the Ferris wheel, giving both males the perfect view to see the fire display.

Shadow was simply at awe at the spectacle he had just witnessed.

~***~

The two hedgehog males were now heading towards the bus station, walking side by side, laughing and smiling at all the events they shared together.

"Thank you so much for the wonderful tour Silver" The darker male thanked the other as they waited for the bus, the latter flashing a sweet smile at him.

"Oh it's my pleasure Shadow! I'm just really happy I finally got to meet you in person; you didn't tell me you were this good looking" Ivory joked, but there was some truth in there, and Shadow chuckled at this "Really now? Well, you should've informed me that you were this adorable" he flirted back, making the younger male blush.

"Oh you" Silver sighed, looking into red pools "So, what do you think of Soleanna?"

"It's absolutely beautiful here; the air is fresh and you're surrounded by the sea. Not to mention that despite being a large city, it's incredibly clean here."

"We also actually have a forest and a desert surrounding us too! It's basically a utopia for nature lovers!" Silver continued.

Another chuckle from Shadow "And it's festive here; unlike in Westopolis"

The statement made Silver tilt his head, befuddled "You don't celebrate anything in Westopolis?" the other shook his head.

"No; it's a big, urbanized metropolis and the air is polluted and it's too crowded. Sure, there are plenty of malls and everything, but we don't celebrate things like this. Everybody is too busy trying to get by in there"

"oh... That's.. kinda sad actually"

Silver felt a hand pet the top of his quills and he did everything in his power not to purr, especially in front of Shadow! He opted to smile instead. "Well I hope you enjoyed the Sun Festival. You can always come again next year" he invited the older male.

"I think I might take you on that offer; it's only a two and a half hour bus ride from Westopolis to here."

"And maybe next time I could visit you?"

This suggestion made Shadow smile "That would be nice; it'll be my turn to tour you in the hustle and bustle of the big city life"

"I've always wanted to visit the National Museum you have there"

"You'll like it very much; it's full of different artifacts from around the world"

From their peripheral view, the conversing hedgehogs saw the arriving bus. Both felt sad for they now had to go their separate ways.

"There's the bus" The silver hedgehog pointed out, the grip on the stuffed elephant tightening.

"yeah..."

Silence accompanied both parties once more as they looked into each other's eyes. The bus had arrived now, and the doors opened. Shadow being the one to break their silence this time.

"Again, thanks so much. I'll chat with you later?" He saw Silver's sweet smile once more and his beautiful amber eyes bright

"Chat ya later!"

Before going in the vehicle, Shadow leaned in and gave a kiss on Silver's cheek, smiling at the other's reaction when he saw the surprised look on Silver's sweet face, and covering his blush with the stuffed elephant. "I'll see you soon Silver" then he turned, climbing up the steps on the bus.

And, to Shadow's surprise (and much to his delight), soft lips returned the kiss on his cheeks as well, and light giggling reached his ears. He looked back to see the ivory male beaming at him as pink dusted his face, waving his hand "Bye Shadow!"

The ebony hedgehog held a hand to where soft lips once were, a lovestruck look on his face as he had a goofy smile and waved back, keeping his eyes on the ivory beauty until he was too far away now, before finally taking his seat.

*ping* You have a new message

[You're such a tease you know that?]

-Absolute.Dreamer15

Shadow couldn't help but smile at this.

[Think of it as a souvenir from me to you. You're a tease yourself, surprising me like that]

-HxllowCost19

[Just think of it as a souvenir from me to you XP]

-Absolute.Dreamer15

Relaxing onto the seat, Shadow sent his reply.

[By the way, your lips are super soft ]

-HxllowCost19

He didn't get a reply back; he assumed that the other was too embarrassed. Chuckling, he put his phone back in his pocket. The jet black mobian still has two hours to go before arriving at Westopolis; he'd probably use that time to daydream about the events of today... and replay that kiss in his head over and over again.

#my art #fanfic #shadilver #silver the hedgehog #shadow the hedgehog

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spellboundwolf · 8 years

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Chapter 1 & Forward

Ness Wolfess

Start: 7/30/2016

Attention! This story is rated T to A because it includes adult situations, drama, some swearing & sex scenes farther in. If that sort of stuff isn't your thing, please direct your eyes some place else! All characters that appear in this story are over the age of 21, including the fictional persona of the reader. Dan Howell, Danny Avidan, Brian Wecht, TWRP & Phil Lester took no part in the creation of this story & is purely a fan fiction for entertainment purposes only. Since the love interests in this story are a bit tall (over 6 ft) I imagine the reader character's height it, at the biggest, 5'5”.

To Dan Howell & Danny Avidan if they finds this story, thank you for being so wonderful enough to inspire me. I respect & love you 2 very much.

(y/n) = your name

(e/c) = eye color

(h/c) = hair color

Dan = Dan Howell/Danisnotonfire

Danny = Leigh Danny Avidan/Danny Sexbang

With all of that taken care of, I hope you enjoy.

You were fast asleep in the window seat of a large, airline plane, right cheek resting against the bicep of your boyfriend Danny Avidan. There was a firm pressure against your face as he nudged & jostled you awake with his shoulder.

“Hey, sleepyhead. Wake up. We're about to land.” Danny said in a soft tone as you rubbed sleep from your eyes & sat up. You wiped off a bit of drool from your chin, stretched & looked around, Danny's hazel eyes being the first thing you saw as you came back from dreamland. Him, you & Brian were bound for London, England for Ninja Sex Party's very first UK tour. After getting on the ground, the 3 of you planned to meet the guys of Tupper Ware Remix Party at the hotel where all of you'd be staying for the tour. You yawned & glanced over to see Brian as he sat beside Danny with his chin in 1 hand, then out the window to your first glimpse of the United Kingdom of Great Britain. You had come along with them because you'd been really looking forward to their very first tour overseas & a couple of your friends from the internet were locals. So you could all meet up while there. As the plane steadily landed & moved along on the runway, you slipped your hand into Danny's larger one, laced your fingers together & smiled up at him.

“How are you doing, hun?” You asked & Danny squeezed it.

“I'm really fucking excited actually... And dying to get out of this seat.” He answered & flexed his ankles impatiently. Poor guy, those long legs weren't meant to be cramped into such a small space for so long. Brian sighed & sat up straight as the pilot announced that they'd be ready to unload very soon.

“Me too. Spending so many hours on a plane sucks. At least we'll get to see TWRP & eat.” He added & you sat back in your chair as the plane started to slow to a stop, thinking of what you'd do once you finally got to walk around one of your dream vacation spots.

Brian slid the card key to the hotel room's door in & then yanked it back out, the light on the metallic handle turning green. He pulled down on it & opened the door wide, leading the way into your home-away-from-home. The 3 of you set down your luggage & wandered around to explore. The suite was large, of course with three people staying there. It had the kitchen combined with a lounge, bedroom, an office, bathroom & balcony that overlooked part of the busy, British city below. Brian headed for the office area & got on the phone with TWRP since he'd received a text message informing you that they had been having trouble finding the building. After tucking away some sodas, bottled water & food into the fridge, you wandered into the bedroom that housed 2 big beds, 2 dressers, shared bedside table, a wide-screen TV, desk & a bay window with floor-length curtains. You grinned when catching sight of Danny who was sprawled out on his back with both arms spread & eyes closed. He lifted his head & peeked out of one eye when you climbed onto the mattress & curled an arm around your chest as you snuggled up close.

“Hey, girl.” He said & let out a sigh when you ran your fingers against his flat stomach.

“I'm really happy I got to come along with you.” You said softly & laid a smooch on his fuzzy cheek. Danny turned his head & locked lips while sliding his long fingers into your soft, (h/c) locks. The tips massaged firmly & you let out a pleased moan into his mouth. In the other room, you could hear Brian continuing to chat & laugh with Lord Phobos on his cell phone. The kiss ended after a couple minutes of lips playing lazily & you snuggled up to your man.

“Mmmm, me too, (y/n).” He mumbled & the 2 of you laid there until Brian finally hung up & walked in through the double doors. He ran a hand across his dark hair before turning to open one half of the curtains, right in front of where you lay. Danny groaned & turned his back on the sunlight that suddenly hit his face. His eyes shut tightly in discomfort.

“Damn it, Brian.” He complained as you sat up. You chuckled a bit & hopped off the mattress, over to the other half of NSP as your boyfriend curled into himself.

“What's the news, dude?” You asked, bouncing a little on the soles of your feet. Brian smiled proudly at the bit of mischief he'd just pulled off then directed his attention at you.

“The guys said they'll be here in 30 minutes to an hour. Traffic's bad by where they are right now.” He replied & you nodded a little.

“Ok, sounds like we have some time to kill until then.” You said & looked over at Danny when he spoke up.

“You should tell your friends we're here, (y/n).” He mumbled while kicking off his shoes. Danny sat up long enough to wiggle out of his leather jacket, then slumped heavily back onto the comforter with a muffled thud. You perked up at this & went over to your luggage of non-clothing items.

“Oh yeah! I almost forgot.” You exclaimed & Danny just answered with a grunt. Flying for so long really wore the singer's body out. Brian had an expression in his sharp, blue eyes that suggested he was considering messing with Danny further, but instead walked off to the lounge to call Rachel & let her know that all of you had made it to London safely. While he did that, you took out the laptop with cable you used for travel & moved to the office space as to give Danny some quiet time. Right before setting up the computer, you sent your British friends text messages on their phones to get onto Skype, since you were now in town. You opened the messenger & checked your e-mail while waiting. Right after you finished up, the ring tone song that plays for a new call alerted. You minimized the browser & smiled when seeing the familiar avatar of your besty Phil Lester, requesting a video chat. You tucked a bit of your (h/c) hair behind one ear & clicked 'Accept'. Right away, most of your screen was filled with the smiling faces of Dan & Phil as they sat in their gaming room. You grinned big right away & all of you waved at each other.

“Hey, guys! We have arrived in merry, olde England!” You greeted & Phil rolled his eyes a little.

“That's a bit over the top, don't ya think?” He asked & you laughed a little before apologizing. Dan poked his head forward a little so that his face was more in frame now.

“Don't mind him. Anyway, it's so wonderful to see you. How long's it been since we last Skyped?” He said & you thought for a moment.

“I think about 2 months? Things have been crazy-busy with arranging this trip, plus having to get ready to actually be here.” You replied as Dan sat back & Phil punched his arm playfully for getting in the way. His eyes darted down while checking the clock on the monitor, then back at your face.

“When do you think we'll get to see you, (y/n)? I'm just so excited!” Phil asked as you noticed that Dan had been intently watching your eyes since the chat session started. He smiled slyly & tilted his head slightly when realizing that you had indeed discovered he was staring.

“Uh, it'll be a few hours at the most. How about I come over tonight? These guys are having their first concert tomorrow & I don't want to get in the way, need some time to adjust to this time zone. I really wanna see you too!” You answered & the 2 of them looked at each other, then back at the camera.

“Yeah, sure. Sounds good to me!” Phil exclaimed & Dan agreed. Due to Danny being famous & you... not really as much, the relationship between you was strictly private. Only the other Grumps, TWRP, Dan, Phil & both you & Danny's immediate families knew. It was sometimes a bit difficult to make sure that there were no public photos or videos of you together. You were both very thankful to everybody for this respect. Danny & you had been a couple recently going on for 2 years now. First, there was the casual dating, then things got serious a few months into your relationship & finally going steady. Being with Danny was, one could say, one of the best things to happen in your life & you knew he'd say the same about you. Dan, you & Phil chatted for a while longer about plans & catching up on what you'd all been doing since the last time you had seen each other. You kept thinking about how excited you were, finally getting to meet some of your best friends in person. The internet was so amazing! Without it, you would most-likely never have even known about the duo bloggers.

“Wait until we take you Pokémon hunting. Phil & I have been working on finding the best places in London to catch them.” Dan bragged & you clutched your cell in 1 hand excitedly.

“Oh, that sounds great!” You replied & started to enthuse about video games with them. Phil came up with the idea of making a few collaboration videos & added it to their schedule.

Later that day, 4 PM (London time), Brian & you took a taxi to the neighborhood Dan & Phil lived in. Danny was currently with TWRP, the lot of them at the hotel. Everyone had dinner together & you were now going to stay the night with Dan & Phil while the bands prepared for their first concert of the tour. The slick, black taxi came to a steady halt on the curb right outside of Dan & Phil's flat building. Brian helped you unload your over-night bag & walked you to the door while the cab waited.

“Danny & I will come to get you tomorrow around dinner time. Be sure to send a text or call if anything comes up.” He said while standing on the stoop with you. You smiled & gave Brian a warm hug.

“Ok, Bri. See you then & have fun.” You replied & he returned it with one arm before opening the door for you.

“Have a great time too, (y/n). I'll see ya.” Brian said & patted the top of your head gently before heading back to the cab. You waved as he went, then turned to go inside. You hands shook with the excitement. Dan & Phil were such wonderful friends to you already & could hardly believe that the men were about to be in front of you for real. No aid of computers to hear their voices or see their bright faces. You took a few deep breaths as you ascended the stairs to the entrance of their flat. You fixed your hair & let out a sigh before ringing the doorbell. Seconds later, you heard the muffled, distant sound of Dan calling out to his flatmate.

“Phil, get the door! My hands are full in here!” You heard Dan's high-pitched shout & the slightly rushing steps of someone else. Your ears perked at Phil's slightly lower & relaxed tone voice as he responded, which was much closer.

“Yeah, yeah. I'll get it! Don't worry about it, you lazy oaf!” He replied with playful sarcasm & you heard a very soft 'ugh' as Phil unlocked the door. You stood up straight & squared your shoulders as the knob turned. Your heart leapt when the door opened & you made eye contact with Phil Lester for the first time. Right as he saw you, his face turned into a huge grin & he practically screamed out your name.

“(y/n)! You're here! He cheered & reached out his long arms, scooping you up so that your feet half left the floor. You laughed giddily at his enthusiasm & hugged in return.

“Phil, oh my gosh! You're so strong!” You giggled & gave his shoulder a light headbutt. The 2 of you parted & he widened the doorway.

“Come on in. Dan! Get your ass in here!” He offered, then turned his head to call for Dan, his Lancashire accent more prominent with the volume. You stepped past Phil & into the flat's living room, eyes exploring the new scene before you. You had just set down your overnight luggage as Dan hurriedly made his way in & screeched to a halt, catching the door frame with one hand as to not bump into Phil who had followed behind.

“Oh my fucking god, you're actually here!” Dan Howell swore, grabbed both of your hands in his & squeezed them. You noticed that he was also quite tall, about Phil's size. Arin & Danny flashed through your mind & you smiled internally at realizing that you had more very tall, male friend than you had previously thought. You laughed at Dan's funny expression of shock when realizing that he'd said 'fuck' in front of you without meaning to. He blushed & dropped your hands, scratching his left cheek in embarrassment.

“Heh, sorry. I'm just really happy to see you, (y/n).” Dan apologized & you shook your head.

“It's alright. I understand & don't mind it really. You're talking to somebody who hangs out with the Grumps just about everyday.” You replied & step closer to your best friends. The three of you shared a group hug & you sighed contently.

“It's so wonderful to get to finally be with some of my favorite people in the whole world.” You said took a good look at the both of them. Phil grinned & adjusted his glasses.

“Well we're very happy to have you, (y/n).” He replied & Dan nodded, hands in his front pockets.

“Yeah, welcome to our home. I know we're going to have a great visit together.” He added & then shuffled his feet a little, eyes downcast. Phil swiftly fasten his hand to Dan's shoulder, making the other jolt a tad.

“Who's up for a home tour?” He asked with a big grin, those lovely blue eyes wide with enthusiasm. Dan groaned & shrugged Phil off before picking up your baggage to place out of the way.

“I sure am!” You said in an equally happy tone. Dan smiled in spite of himself & lead the way to the rest of their flat.

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ecoorganic · 4 years

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‘That Dude Is Different’: Devin Booker Has Put the NBA on Notice

With Devin Booker leading the way, the Suns have a 5-0 restart record after beating Miami on Saturday night and are inching closer to the No. 9 seed

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – The texts live on Devin Booker’s phone, dozens of them, stored like a digital memorial. Kobe Bryant was more than just a brief peer. He was a confidant and advisor, a mentor and a friend. Every so often, Booker will pull up Bryant’s number and scroll through, reading the encouragement (Book ‘em! Bryant wrote after Booker dropped 70 on Boston in 2017), advice and endless string of emojis.

“Kobe,” Booker said, “loved emojis.”

Bryant believed in Booker. The NBA is catching up. The Suns are the talk of Central Florida, running their restart record to 5-0 after beating Miami on Saturday night, inching, improbably, closer to the No. 9 seed and a chance to compete for the Western Conference’s final playoff spot. Booker has been the catalyst. He has scored 30-plus in three of Phoenix’s five games. He dropped in 35, including the game-winner, in the Suns' win over the Clippers. He added another 35 against the Heat.

“I’ve been a fan of his since he was in college,” said Miami coach Erik Spoelstra. “His game has really grown.”

Phoenix Suns' Devin Booker (1) goes to the basket over Miami Heat's Andre Iguodala, left, and Tyler Herro, right, during the second half of an NBA basketball game at Visa Athletic Center on Aug. 8, in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

You know Booker by the scoring numbers, but is that all you know? Do you know the playmaking, the six-plus assists Booker has averaged the last two seasons? Do you know the defense, steadily improving, the insistence by Booker that he get the opposing team's toughest matchup every night? Do you know the work ethic on display since college, the all-around talent teams were stunned to see when this baby faced teenager declared for the draft after just one season at Kentucky?

In 2015, Miami brought Booker in for a pre-draft workout. Booker was brilliant, dominating assistant coach Chris Quinn, then just two years removed from a six-year playing career. After the workout, Spoelstra, Heat president Pat Riley and several team staffers took Booker to lunch. They had questions for Booker. He had more for them. “He wanted to know about the makeup of our team,” Spoelstra told SI. “He wanted to know the work ethic of our guys. He was really impressive.”

Ryan McDonough has a similar story. The ex-Suns GM watched Booker at Kentucky, but on a loaded ‘Cats team, there was only so many opportunities. Weeks before the draft, Phoenix brought Booker in as part of a group workout. Booker, says McDonough, was great. “He was so much more than just a catch-and-shoot player,” McDonough said in a telephone interview. “He could do it all.”

Competitive, too. At the end of the workout, the Suns gathered the players for a one-on-one knockout drill. You score, you stay on. You miss, you come off. Booker, McDonough recalls, scored 10 times in a row. Eventually, an assistant coach stepped in to stop the workout. Booker waved him off. “He said, ‘I’m not done until someone stops me,’” McDonough said. “Eventually someone did. But that competitiveness in him really stood out.”

That workout stuck with McDonough on draft night. The Suns had Booker ranked high, in a mix of wing players that included Stanley Johnson and Justise Winslow. Johnson came off the board at No. 8, to Detroit. Winslow went two picks later. Phoenix, sitting at 13, had Booker in its sights. When Utah, at No. 12, went on the clock, McDonough was confident he had his man.

Then, McDonough’s phone rang. It was Sam Presti, the Oklahoma City GM.

The Thunder, with the 14th pick, wanted to know if Phoenix would swap.

McDonough told Presti he needed to see who Utah picked.

When the Jazz selected Trey Lyles, McDonough told Presti the Suns were keeping the pick.

Presti, according to McDonough, asked who Phoenix was taking.

McDonough told him Booker. “And you could kind of hear or sense the air come out of the [OKC] room,” McDonough said. “You could tell they wanted him.”

Booker was everything the Suns asked for, a tireless worker. He cracked the rotation midseason and, says McDonough, “we knew he was there to stay.” Booker’s father, Melvin, was a standout star at Missouri and had a cup of coffee in the NBA. In 2008, after nearly a decade spent playing overseas, he moved back to Moss Point, a small coastal town in Southern Mississippi. Booker, then living with his mother in Michigan, went to live with him. Dad became coach, with Melvin leading his son through early morning workouts on the gravely beaches, cone drills, ladder drills, sprints, pushing Booker’s limits.

“Very intense,” Booker told SI. “We would go a couple of days without talking after some workouts. But I learned the most about becoming a man and how to approach and take this game seriously.”

Booker brought that work ethic to Phoenix. He arrived early and stayed late, hoisting thousands of shots. Robert Sarver, the Suns owner, had a court at his house, and it wasn’t unusual for Booker to pop over after practice to shoot some more.

The work paid off, with Booker quickly becoming a statistical star. Questions, though, lingered. The Suns struggled in Booker’s first four years, never winning more than 24 games. They cycled through coaches, four in all. Booker’s numbers, some reasoned, amounted to empty calories. He was a good player. He just wasn’t a winning player.

McDonough heard it. He knew Booker did, too.

“Not being a winner, hearing that, that was what bothered me most,” Booker said. “Winning is my main objective when I go out there every day. It's not about the numbers that I put up. As cliché as it sounds, I know everybody says it, but my main objective is to win and make the right play every time down court.”

Booker needed help, and the cavalry arrived last summer. There was Monty Williams, an unabashed Booker fan. Williams remembered watching Booker in 2016, when Booker was playing for USA Basketball’s select team. “He had no fear,” Williams said. “He was making a statement.” Last year, Philadelphia, with Williams on the bench, played in Phoenix. Late in the game, with the Sixers clinging to a seven-point lead, Philadelphia went zone. Booker busted it by knocking down a 27-footer.

Said Williams, “I was like, that dude is different.”

There was Ricky Rubio, the playmaking point guard Phoenix lavished a three-year, $51 million deal on last July. Rubio was everything Booker needed, a pass-first point guard eager to set him up, a sturdy defender who could handle tough assignments. Booker, says Rubio, is a “unique talent” whose footwork reminds him of Bryant. “I don’t think he gets enough credit for who he is and what he does,” Rubio said. “Hopefully he’ll get more respect … he is a winner.”

A winner. From Michigan to Mississippi, Kentucky to Phoenix, that’s all Booker has wanted. The Suns, regardless of what happens the rest of this season, are well positioned for the next one. “Get my man out of Phoenix,” is what Draymond Green said on TNT on Friday, but these aren’t the same old Suns. Booker and Rubio are locked into long term deals. Kelly Oubre is signed through next season. Ayton, Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson are on rookie contracts. James Jones has seized control of the front office and Williams has brought stability to the bench.

Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns shoots the game winning basket over Paul George #13 of the LA Clippers at The Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on Aug. 04, in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

“Since I’ve been in Phoenix, we haven’t had [team] success,” Booker said. “We owe it to the fans, we owe it to the organization. It’s been a long time for us. This bubble opportunity was big for us, and we’re taking advantage of it.”

Indeed. As Bryant would. There are similarities to Booker and Bryant, teen phenoms who made a quick impact, late lottery picks with something to prove. Before Bryant won he couldn’t win, not without Shaquille O’Neal, not without another accomplished star. Post-Shaq, pre-Pau Gasol, Bryant was the gunner, Bryant was the stat stuffer, Bryant was putting up gaudy numbers on a team going nowhere.

On Booker’s right forearm, a tattoo reads Be Legendary. It’s what Bryant wrote on a pair of sneakers he gave to Booker in 2016. Booker had it inked on weeks after Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash in January. It was his first tattoo. It will be his last. He is reminded of Bryant when he looks at his arm. He thinks of him when he scrolls through his phone. The last text he sent Bryant came the day of the crash, when word spread that Bryant was on the Southern California chopper.

He asked if Bryant was OK.

The message never went through.

“The most impactful moment in my life,” Booker said. “But Kobe is with me every day. The Mamba Mentality, the approach, the don't want to lose at all costs, the competitiveness, the whatever it takes attitude. Having that goal and then knowing the steps to get to it and not short cutting any of those. Every day is a grind. Every day is a new opportunity to get better.”

from Blogger https://ift.tt/2PDIaDb

#Blogger

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accuhunt · 7 years

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17 Incredible Travel (and Life) Moments of 2017.

I’m not really in the mood to pen this post. One moment, I’m in the Slovenian Alps, cycling and hiking amid pristine alpine meadows, it’s the middle of the year, there’s so much I want to experience, there’s so much more I need to write about. The next moment, it’s December and my social media timelines are filled with holiday messages. Where did the time fly?

2017 has been a strange year for me as a travel blogger. This year, I struggled to write even a couple of blog posts every month, not because of a lack of stories or time, but because of the way the travel blogging (and social media) landscape is evolving. Attention spans are shorter, quality content is harder to come by and it feels like everyone is trying to sell the same travel narrative and perfect instagram shots, without a deeper connection to a destination.

Cycling amid the stark mountain terrain of Spiti.

So this year, I began experimenting with other things. I accepted speaking gigs to inspire people to pursue alternate lifestyle choices, spoke on topics close to my heart and tried to connect directly with my audience. I worked on environmental / community-based projects I feel passionate about, in Spiti and Sarmoli in India. And I tried to get more involved with the worldwide vegan movement.

Yet I literally had to scroll through my Instagram posts to realise what I got upto all year. Turns out, quite a bit:

Featured on the cover of National Geographic Traveller India magazine!

Back in April, while I was living out my Alpine dream in Slovenia, the editor-in-chief of National Geographic Traveller India magazine reached out to me for a story for their special anniversary issue dedicated not to a place, but to the traveller. I was looking forward to seeing it in print, but was taken by surprise when I saw my name on the cover, in the revered company of inspirational travellers like Pico Iyer, Ruskin Bond and Sudha Murthy. The surprise soon turned to gratitude, for all the encouragement and support I’ve received on this journey.

Read my story for Nat Geo: My Home Has No Address

The year’s first snowfall in a tiny village in the Caucasus Mountains of Georgia

Hiking on the Georgian countryside after a snowy day <3

What’s that feeling when you go to sleep admiring how the autumn leaves are turning red, yellow and orange all over the valley… and wake up with snowflakes dancing all around you? Yeah, I haven’t found a word for it either. But I remember my heart fluttering as I stepped into my balcony with a hot cup of tea, and put out my hand to catch a falling snowflake. Walking along the cobblestoned alleys of our picturesque little village in the dramatic Caucasus Mountains felt like living through the most dreamy chapter of a storybook. It was the only time in the year I had the illusive feeling of being home.

Read: Go to the Caucasus Mountains, Find Your Soul, Set it Free

Spotting a humpback whale in the Maldives

youtube

We set out on the tiny fishing boat of our host at Madi Finolhu Guesthouse in the Maldives, to snorkel with the illusive manta rays and whale sharks… but were taken aback when a humpback whale surfaced near our fishing boat instead! Apparently they migrate from the Arabian Gulf at the beginning of winter, crossing the Maldives on their 200+ kilometre long journey, and we were lucky enough to spot one just as it surfaced out of the ocean. I’ve never seen anything so huge; our host was genuinely worried it might overturn our boat!

(I was too stunned to get a picture, so the video above is a glimpse of snorkelling with turtles in the Indian Ocean).

Read: How I’m Funding My Adventures Around the World Through Travel Blogging

“I Love Spiti” – An initiative against plastic bottled water in Spiti

The “I Love Spiti” installation near the entrance to Kaza.

I’ve dreamt so often of going back to Spiti – a region that changed everything I knew about the world and myself. Finally in 2017, I travelled back with a purpose – to create awareness against the mindless consumption of bottled water by a growing number of tourists in Spiti, in collaboration with Spiti Ecosphere and fellow volunteers. We worked with the local tourism industry to offer alternatives like filtered water, and built a life-size installation – “I Love Spiti” – entirely with discarded plastic bottles, so travellers can pledge against their use. Hopefully, 2018 will witness less plastic bottles discarded into the dumping ground next to Spiti River.

Read: “I Love Spiti”: How Travellers Must Help Save India’s Surreal Himalayan Desert

Jumping off a cliff into glacial water – canyoning in the Austrian Alps

Rappelling down a waterfall in Tirol!

I contemplated life for an entire minute before deciding to jump off a cliff into the glacial pool of a waterfall – freezing cold in the end of September. Canyoning in the Austrian Alps – rappelling down waterfalls, sliding down rocks, swimming in glacial water – was one wild adventure!

Read: How I Conquer My Solo Travel Fears

Solo trek to Jhandi – Uttarakhand’s highest peak in the lesser Himalayas

Hiking to Nag Tibba, and further to Jhandi.

I’ve never really been on a popular trek in India, simply because I can’t stand hiking in a noisy group. Luckily, you don’t need a group, or even a guide, to hike up to Nag Tibba, and further up to Jhandi, Uttarakhand’s highest peak in the lesser Himalayan region with majestic views on the snow-capped Himalayas. So I had to give it a shot. Although I was on the verge of turning back twice and got lost a bunch of times, I eventually made it and lay on the peak, in the warm sun, all by myself.

Read: Awe-Inspiring Hideouts in Uttarakhand to Tune Out of Life and Tune Into the Mountains

An Instagram and Photography workshop in Sarmoli

Crowdsourced smartphones and curious participants. Photo: Jayashree Ramaswamy.

@voicesofmunsiari began as a humble Instagram account in 2016 but developed its own wings in 2017. It got featured as India’s first Instagram account to be run entirely by a village community by several leading publications including The Times of India and Conde Nast Traveller. In Sarmoli’s annual summer festival, we decided to take it to the next level with crowdsourced smartphones (thanks to everyone who contributed!) and a Photography and Instagram workshop, during which we were joined by Bangalore-based photographer Jayashree Ramaswamy. Most of the attendees were women, and I had so much fun sharing what I’ve learnt about Instagram over the years, and playing impromptu games (including a treasure hunt) with the curious audience.

Read: Sarmoli, Uttarakhand: A Himalayan Village Where Locals Run Marathons and Their Own Instagram Channel

Perseid and Geminid – two meteor showers in one year

The Milky Way in the dark nights skies of Spiti.

If you follow me on social media, you know how much I love stargazing. So each time I read about a meteor shower, I desperately look for a place with dark skies to catch it. That’s also one of the reasons why I’ve strived so hard to build a nomadic life.

But this year, I almost didn’t see a meteor shower because of how last-minute and ill-planned my travels are… except that the universe conspired to make me see two – the Perseid Meteor Shower lying on a charpoy (cot) in the Thar Desert near Churu and the Geminid Meteor Shower in northern Thailand! The feeling of laying under the dark sky, witnessing multiple large greenish / blue meteors dash through the sky, is just indescribable.

Read: Saving Money for Travel: 9 Practical Tips

Cycling in the Slovenian Alps

Cycling amid the gorgeous Alpine scenery of Slovenia.

Before I went to Slovenia, I had only seen dreamy images of Lake Bled all over Instagram. I was rather underwhelmed by how touristy, commercial and built-up the lake really is. But it was further into the heart of the Slovenian Alps that I found true love! Every other day, we’d get on our mountain bikes and cycle amid the most dreamy, breathtaking Alpine scenery; think glistening blue glacial lakes, meadows filled with wildflowers, dramatic peaks all around us and not another soul in sight.

Read: Dreamy Airbnbs to Experience Europe Like a Local

India’s biggest vegan festival in Mumbai

Vegan parmesan-style cheese at a cooking demo by Jinal Rathod at Birdsong Cafe. Delicious!

It’s been over two years since I turned vegan and stopped consuming animal products as far as possible… and since then, I’ve found the road to be somewhat lonely as far as my food choices go. In far off corners of Georgia and Latin America, I’ve wondered if I’m the only crazy one to have no cheese on my mchadi (corn bread) or tortillas. Luckily, I found my tribe in Mumbai this year, where the vegan movement is growing so big that in November, they hosted India’s biggest vegan festival. There were over a hundred vegan businesses selling everything from homemade desserts to almond cheese to even soy tandoori kebabs! There were inspiring talks, cooking demos, even an ethical fashion show. It was exactly what I needed to reinstill faith in my choice to go vegan.

Read: Why I Turned Vegan – and What it Means for My Travel Lifestyle

Millions of fireflies in Taiwan

An attempt to capture fireflies in Taiwan.

For the second time in my life (the first was in Purushwadi, Maharashtra years ago), on a dark night, I found myself surrounded by millions of fireflies – in a bamboo forest in Taiwan! As they sent beams of light to each other and our group silently looked on, a most magical feeling washed over me.

Read: Not Your Typical Travel Guide to Taiwan

Friendships without a common language in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Checking out someone’s traditional wooden boat in Bosnia

Even though I only spent a handful of days in an obscure town in Bosnia and Herzegovina, I was surprised by how warm and friendly the people are. From heartbreaking stories of the civil war to personal anecdotes, locals went out of their way to communicate with me despite no common language between us. Then I went on a long hike with my Bosnian hostess to a stunning blue river and a nameless waterfall, and we chatted late into the evening about our lives, joking how we managed to say everything with only 10 common words between us. It’s true, the language you speak doesn’t always matter.

Read: Culturally Intriguing Ways to Experience Europe

Keynote speaker at the SoDelhi Confluence – “Blogging: A powerful tool for social change”

Keynote speaker – SoDelhi Confluence.

In 2017, I finally broke out of my shell and tried to conquer my public speaking fears. In January alone, I did four speaking gigs – on following your passion at a corporate event by ICICI, on responsible travel at the Nat Geo Travel Meetup, on how travel bloggers can work with tourism boards at Mumbai Travel Massive and on travel writing at the Parnassus Literature Festival. I accepted several more speaking invites through the year, but the highlight was delivering a keynote at the SoDelhi Confluence – a select gathering of bloggers and influencers from across India. While most speakers and panelists spoke about earning money through blogging, I tried to challenge the audience to think differently and channel our influence for social and environmental causes.

See the full video of my keynote: Blogging: A powerful tool for social change

The ‘Uttarakhand’ feeling in Goat Village

Wild chamomile flowers at Goat Village.

Just 3 hours from my hometown Dehradun, which increasingly feels overrun with traffic and construction, Goat Village is the kind of oasis I’ve dreamt of in Uttarakhand. This initiative aims to preserve the micro-culture of Himalayan farmers, especially those abandoning their farms in pursuit of city dreams. It is reviving organic farming and finding a market for superfoods like amaranth that often grow wild in the villages of Garhwal. I was ecstatic to be surrounded by wild chamomile flowers, eat a millet-based diet, live in a traditional Kumaoni house with urban amenities and snack on soybeans at tea time!

Read: What The Village Folk of Kumaon Taught Me About Life

Hanging out with Odisha’s Munda and Bonda tribes

Misty sunrises in Eastern Odisha.

Just when I thought I knew India, I landed up in Odisha and it changed everything I thought I knew. I fell in love with the misty sunrises, cycling amid the dense mountain forests, endless mango orchards and the dramatic scenery of Koraput. But most of all, I fell in love with the ancient tribal way of life of the Mundas in the east and the Bondas in the south. They appeared much more progressive than us urban folk, in terms of the clothes they wear (or choose not to), the food they eat and their relationships. I remember drinking handiya (homemade fermented rice beer) with the Munda women as they socialised in the tribal haats (markets) – a rarity in India – and can’t wait to write all about it.

Read: How Responsible Tourism Can Challenge Patriarchy in India

A digital nomad in Chiang Mai, Thailand

My abode on a private plantation in Chiang Mai <3

I might be a few years too late in doing the digital nomad thing in Chiang Mai, but after our plans to spend the end of the year in Oman fell through, Thailand seemed the only viable (affordable) option in busy December. I’m glad our plans fell through, because I’m totally in love with my abode on a private plantation outside the city, a ten minute bicycle ride into the mountains and ancient Buddhist temples. And the region is heavenly for vegan food, both Thai and international cuisines.

Read: Four Years of Travelling Without a Home

A surprise I can’t divulge yet…

A gorgeous sunset in Maalhos, Maldives.

Life overwhelms you in the most unexpected of ways. Something most unexpected happened this year but I haven’t yet found the words to share it with you… perhaps next year!

Leaving you with a little video that will (hopefully) inspire your 2018!

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Your turn, what were your most incredible travel / life moments of 2017?

Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Google+ to follow my adventures live!

ALSO READ: My 13 “Incredible India” Moments in 2013 My 14 “Incredible India” Moments in 2014 My 15 Most Memorable Moments of 2015 My Most Memorable Sunrises, Sunsets and Starry Skies of 2016

17 Incredible Travel (and Life) Moments of 2017. published first on http://ift.tt/2w0EToM

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mastvideos · 7 years

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5 Things We’ve Learned About The Booming Essential Oils Business

If you’re on Facebook, there’s a good chance that — between friends trying to sell you LuLaRoe leggings and whatever it is that Rodan + Fields is — you’re also seeing regular posts about essential oils and their various purported uses, from making you or your home smell nice to somehow miraculously (but not actually) curing diseases. Regardless of the pitch, the underlying message is the same thing: Buy, buy, buy. And these smelly oils are now a big business..

For its current issue, The New Yorker took a deep dive into the world of essential oils sales and, specifically, the two biggest multi-level-marketing companies that convince your Facebook friends to sell them: Young Living and doTerra.

The full essay is worth taking the time to read, but here are a few highlights.

1. Yes, you really are hearing about essential oils more now than you used to.

Young Living was founded in 1994, by a man named Gary Young. (So the company name isn’t only an appeal to youth.)

Between 2007 and 2017, though, Young Living has seen tenfold growth, the New Yorker explains. And then there’s the competition: doTerra launched in 2008, when several former Young Living executives got together to form a new company.

By 2012, doTerra was about the same size as Young Living, with millions of distributors — largely women — signed up to sell each product. In 2015, doTerra claimed it had passed $1 billion in sales.

2. The founder has an… interesting history.

The New Yorker devotes several paragraphs to explaining Young’s backstory, and it’s quite a tale.

He attributes recovery from a severe spinal injury in his early 20s to a 253-day regimen of drinking “nothing but water and lemon juice.”

Following his recovery, he opened a health center in Washington state in 1982. That clinic included birthing services; one of the children he delivered there, his daughter, died after being submerged for an hour in a whirlpool bath.

The next year, Young claimed he could detect cancer with a blood test; he was then arrested for practicing medicine without a license and pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge.

He then opened another clinic, this time in Tijuana. A reporter sent in a blood sample taken from a cat, posing as a patient; representatives for the clinic told him “his” blood “showed signs of aggressive cancer and liver dysfunction” (the cat had neither) and recommended the clinic’s detox program — for a cool $2,000 per week.

From there, Young eventually became fascinated by oils and began planting fields full of peppermint, tansy, and lavender in Idaho. In 1994, he and his third wife launched Young Living.

In 2000, Young opened another clinic, this time in Utah, that administered “alternative therapies” to patients facing a whole host of medical issues, including heart disease and cancer. One of the doctors on staff there had recently had his medical license reinstated after pleading guilty to manslaughter for providing a fatal overdose of a drug to one of his patients — who never actually had the cancer she said she did — a decade earlier.

Young also had challenges reining in spending as the company grew, former employees told the New Yorker, building replicas of a Wild West town and a medieval castle, at which he suited up in armor and competed in jousting tournaments as “Sir Gary.”

The company’s former COO (one of the eventual doTerra founders) also told the New Yorker he was alarmed when he saw a video of Young, whose “only medical degree is a doctorate in naturopathy from an unaccredited school,” performing gallbladder surgery and administering essential oils by IV at his Ecuador clinic.

That COO was eventually fired; an email Young send him read, ““Satan exercised dominion over you to the point where you started thinking that you had knowledge and ability greater than anyone else, including me, the creator of the company.”

3. The folks at the bottom don’t make money.

There’s no denying the companies make money, but the thing about a multi-level-marketing business is that while generally, the people at the top of the pyramid do quite well, it’s pretty much only the folks at the top who do well.

One Young Living user and seller the New Yorker profiled said she encouraged herself by saying, among other things, “I went from making zero dollars a month to over zero dollars a month,” which is not exactly a ringing endorsement of riches.

The Distributor level, Young Living’s lowest rank, comprises about 94% of the company’s members. The Royal Crown Diamond tier — the level, bluntly, that makes bank — accounts for less than 0.1% of participants.

Distributors have to buy about $100 worth of merchandise per month in order to receive commissions on their Young Living sales, according ton the New Yorker, and 94% of the company’s two million active members made less than $1 each in all of 2016.

Related: John Oliver wants you to go tell five friends why multi-level marketing stinks

That makes quite a pyramid — but of course, pyramid schemes are illegal.

“You have the two legs of your pyramid,” a doTerra employee explained to the New Yorker’s reporter. “I mean, not a pyramid, but, you know, it has a triangular shape.”

4. It’s a massive global supply chain.

When the New Yorker reporter toured doTerra’s headquarters, she glimpsed an entire warehouse “full of fifty-gallon barrels” of oils from all over the world: Bulgaria, Oman, nations in the Horn of Africa.

As recently as last month, Young Living got busted for the Department of Justice for importing products from endangered plants that were harvested without permission.

The plea agreement said that the company and its contractors harvested 86 tons of rosewood in Peru over a four-year period, distilling it down to just under 1,900 liters of oil, which sold for between $3.5 and $9 million.

An expert told the New Yorker that if demand — specifically, for frankincense — keeps up and isn’t properly managed, “we risk causing an ecological crash of a rare and endangered ecosystem.”

5. It’s hard to police false or unsubstantiated claims.

The Food and Drug Administration is, of course, tasked with stopping companies from making completely unsubstantiated claims about their products. You can’t launch an ad saying, “Our pill cures cancer!” if you have not in fact run clinical studies proving that your pill cures cancer; the FDA goes after companies for that sort of thing all the time.

In traditional retail, it’s comparatively simple to train new employees how to toe the company line with customers. In multi-level, work-from-home, distributed networks like Young Living and doTerra, though, it’s a lot harder. The front-line salespeople are mostly just regular folks working their own social networks, online and off. And that means that one of them might perhaps tweet something like a listing for, “oils that could help prevent your contracting the Ebola virus,” as one vendor did.

The FDA showed up at doTerra’s headquarters over that one, the company’s chief medical officer told the New Yorker. In the wake of that, the company has put in a 50-person compliance team to scour social media for “noncompliant” language and has begin issuing educational materials to its “Wellness Advocates.” Which is great, except that there’s no requirement or guarantee that anyone will ever actually look at or use the materials.

by Kate Cox via Consumerist via Blogger http://ift.tt/2xYTGBF http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

#5 Things We’ve Learned About The Booming Essential Oils Business

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lonelybutnotlostsoul-blog · 7 years

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Long distance Military Relationships....

So I’ve never been a serious blogger, but that might be changing here soon. Frankly, I think it takes too much time and effort. Up until now, I’ve seemingly had it all together with a pretty casual life. I’m almost 20 years old and currently dating a U.S. Navy Sailor... 2 years and counting.

The reason I’ve decided to take to Tumblr again? I’m lonely. My boyfriend left three days ago to head up to Washington, from there he’ll be going on his first deployment. He will only be gone for two to three months at a time with a two or three months being in, or that’s what I’ve been told so far. Things tend to change, but I don’t think this is one of those. Sorry, I’m not that good at being able to keep up with all these things.... All I know is I love him so I’m kinda just wingin’ it for him.

Anyways, so yeah, I’m lonely. He’s gone and I have no idea when the next time I will even be able to see him again. So that is the reason I’ve started this blog, to keep myself busy while he’s away.

It hit me extremely hard the first day he left, after 8 months of living together and getting to see him every night and on his days off (since he was in the schooling part) his sudden absence hit me like a train. Even while knowing this time was coming, I still wasn’t ready. I can’t describe this feeling and honestly, I’d rather not. Instead, I’m going to keep myself busy with this blog and staying positive for the future.

How we ended up meeting is kind of funny.

We both grew up in the same small town out in the middle of nowhere country part of Cali, with a population of 517, yet had no clue each other existed. I lived pretty much right around the block from him and I grew up knowing his father (a rather popular man around town for being a kinda handyman of sorts), but had no clue he had children my age. A daughter who’s two and a half years older than me, as well as a son who’s only two months older than me.

It took 17 years for us to find each other, on a camping trip. Odd since my mother and his father rarely do anything with each other (not that they don’t get along or anything, they just have different life styles and friends.), but we ended up on a camping trip with them some how anyways.

I met him early July time, knowing he’d be leaving to the Navy in a few months. Honestly, I didn’t expect things to turn into this.

Long story short, we hit it off pretty well. Even after he dropped me in a river on accident, I still make fun of him for that to this day. At the time it was just my mother, my younger brother, and me joining them in camping up at the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. Joining a rather large group of 4 other adults, two teens, and 6 children. All together it might not have been the most enjoyable camping trip I’ve ever been on, but I had fun with the other two teens. Not knowing that I’d be best friends with one and dating the other.

After the trip, everything went back to normal and I figured I probably wouldn’t ever talk to them again. A few days later Johnny (15 years old at the time) added me into a group chat on Facebook with J (my future boyfriend), who was gone again on a summer camp thing for Eagle Scouts. Johnny and I blew up his phone with messages while he was away, a nice surprise for J when he came back into data range.

It all just ran together. For the first few weeks, I mainly talked to Johnny or in group chat (since I still wasn’t really talking much to J, I hit it off better with Johnny who is one of my best friends now). But soon J and I ended up texting, like all the time. It happened all at once, I don’t even remember how. In a few short weeks, we were texting from the time we woke up until bed time. Goodnight and morning texts flew by and so did the days we spent hanging out. Down at the river bottom outside of town, going for walks, hanging out at the small middle school playground, we did everything this small town could offer before eventually venturing out farther to like the beach and hikes.

Almost every day for the remaining month of summer was spent together, growing closer to the day he would be leaving for basic training (aka boot camp). By the end of September I was hopelessly hooked, when we were at his Mom’s going away party for him I ended up breaking down and crying outside with Johnny. He had already seen it coming I guess, evidently a lot of people had actually. Somehow I managed to pull it together and go back in to enjoy the rest of my time with him, the thought still pretty heavy on my mind.

He was leaving in a few weeks and after he got out of boot camp he’d go away and forget all about me because I was just that girl. Like a sappy story: girl falls for a guy, guy doesn’t know doesn’t care, guy leaves to climb up in the world, girl gets left behind and forgotten and spend the rest of her life in the same old rut of a small town. Right? Skylar Gray’s song “Tower” was on repeat in my head the whole time, not even joking.

The next weekend was his father’s going away party for him, he normally does things separately with them since his parents are divorced. This was when everything completely switched for me, for us. At the party, before everyone had arived there, a small group of us were hanging out upstairs. Johnny, J’s sister, J, and I. J and I had just walked in the room, standing rather close I guess. I’d gotten pretty used to being so close to him, I’d nearly be touching him. Not purposely, just without even thinking.

“So, are you two together yet?” The words fumbled out of Johnny’s mouth before he could stop them, he honestly hadn’t meant it to.

J and I kinda froze and looked at each other, I was so afraid of his answer. Neither I would have been satisfied with. “No” would have hurt more than ever, but if he had said “yes” I would have sternly said no and walked out. Bad experience with an ex in the past; my mother had asked him and he just answered yes, when honestly we weren’t even close to that.

Thankfully neither of those happened, something else did. Something that I respect so much to this day, I’d never had it before. Instead of answering, J nudged me out into the hall around the corner. I found myself leaning against the wall with him a little too close, or it felt that way at least. I was so nervous I couldn’t breathe or even think straight, I liked him so so so much. He was just as nervous as me, if not more. He kind of fidgeted and stumbled over words, looking back now it still makes my stomach feel all fluttery and bubbly.

“I’d like to,” was all he said. My heart felt like it was in my throat, I nodded. It was all I could do, I was nearly in tears and I still couldn’t breathe right. He smiled and asked if I really wanted to be his girlfriend, if possible getting even more fidgety. Of course, I did, I’ve liked him since I felt met him. I told him yes and bam, that’s how we started dating. A week before boot camp. It made him so happy, I was his first girlfriend. He was 18 years old but had been friend zoned all through high school, I was his first. (First everything, what a heavy weight to carry right? Like what if I wasn’t all he’d expected right? Like the first kiss and anything sexual is always a big thing people talk up, I didn’t want to disappoint.)

I was his first kiss.

We went on our first date, to the movies and after we got Starbucks and hung out at a small park while it was dark. I guess he tried to kiss me, I obviously hadn’t noticed and moved away. He thought I did it on purpose trying to avoid it, but I didn’t. After we’d been dating for a while he told me this and I felt really bad after. Our first kiss was a teary and boogerfull one, one that lead to many more. We didn’t kiss until the day before he left, he kissed me while I was in the middle of crying. First off it started that I couldn’t bring myself to look at him, I hate people seeing me cry. I hate it so much. But he forced me to look up at him and then kissed me, it wasn’t very smooth but he did better on the second kiss.

He left for boot camp in October, and it was one of the hardest things I’ve even been through. It’s the second hardest I’ve ever cried. I texted him while he was on his way to the airport, then when he landed in Chicago later the evening. It would be the last I talked to him for like two months, going from talking and hanging out almost every day to him being over 2,000 miles away with almost zero contact at all. I’d never had to go through something like that. It was always just a movie thing, that cute couple thing I never thought I’d be doing. How did I end up in a military relationship??

But once the letters started coming in and going out, it got a little better. I managed to keep myself busy somehow and the next thing I knew I was on a plane to Chicago, Illinois. For his boot camp graduation, he’d made it through and I was invited to travel all the way to watch his class ceremony. I’ve never done much traveling, much less without a family member by my side. So going with his sister and mother alone kind of scared me, I’d only barely met them once or twice and hadn’t really spent much time actually talking with them. (Later I’d grow to love them both so much, they’re both amazing people. His mother has done so much for me and him, I think she is an amazing person I wish I could be more like her for him.)

I found out Johnny was joining us as well as Braden’s mother and little sister, Braden being J’s best friend for high school who’d also joined the Navy at the same time. J and Braden had been in the same class group, so that was pretty cool. I got to meet Braden’s little sister, Hannah. We had a pretty good time in Chicago, even went ice skating (I am not a fan!).

From there both J and Braden were sent to a program in South Carolina, where they spent almost a full year. Braden ended up being sent to another place, he was pretty happy to be there.

8 months ago J finished the first part of the school, so I flew over with his mom and stayed after she left. From there he went into the second part, which he’d graduate from July 7th, 2017. I have to say that I’m so proud of him, I know I never would have been able to do what he did.

Looking back now.... We started dating a week before he left to boot camp, some people thought I was crazy. For a while, I secretly wondered if they were all right and maybe I was crazy. He could cheat on me, with all those ladies who chase men in uniforms... But two years later, no regrets and still as happy as ever. I couldn’t be happier, even though he had to leave for now. I can’t wait to see him again, I plan on making that happen soon. We’ve had our ups and downs, but all together we can make it through it.

I’ll have to write about the road trip from hell sometime, that was the trip coming home having to move all our stuff from a small apartment here so he could go to Washington. Worst. Trip. Ever.

Altogether things worked out, we made it home, and now he’s half way to Washington. We’ll see how this blog thing works out for me.

P.s. to any military girlfriend, wife, boyfriend, or husband out there reading this: Please stay strong, I know its hard but it’s well worth it.

-I am a Navy girlfriend and I am so proud of my sailor

#military girlfriend #navy girlfriend #long distant love #relationship #distance

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garynsmith · 7 years

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The Inman Files: House drama, Goldberg and low-tech ‘iBuyers’

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I’m working on a new weekly email featuring my thoughts on the industry and more. Here’s my first crack. Send me feedback at [email protected]. And if you would like this in your inbox every Friday, sign up here:

The House Drama: Episode 1 (coming soon to Netflix)

When my wife Yaz and I bought a house in Southern California last month, a brown patch in the tiny green front yard annoyed me to no end. It was not that important, and my eager Realtor Byron made sure the gardner fixed it before we moved in.

The homebuying process also had a brown patch; if I’m honest, it was actually two or three big, ugly patches. They too annoyed me and they too can be fixed, but it will take lots more than watering the grass.

Here is the setup for our crazy experience: I found my agent on the internet, confusing a Zillow Premier Agent advertiser for the listing agent. Fancy-pancy real estate expert — me — got duped. We got lucky; Byron is a good agent.

As we all know, the real estate industry is hyper-competitive. And because there are few better catalysts for innovation than competition, real estate is constantly blazing new ground. Real estate expansion teams -- teams that do business in multiple markets -- are one of the industry’s latest, and hottest, innovations ...

The house was an off-market– in fact, a premature off-market listing, like a banana that is way too green to eat.

It also became a dual agency listing by a prominent broker in town.

To add to the Hollywood drama, the seller was seemingly having a relationship problem as we closed the transaction, causing his partner to get cold feet about moving out of the house.

The entire deal got icky when the off-market listing + dual agency + a nervous seller added up to an iffy closing.

If this was a treatment for a true-crime Netflix series, we could call it “Blood on the Deal.”

Look out for Episode 2 of Season 1 next week.

Outside/Inside Inman

Drum-beating or beating a dead horse?

Put a bow-tie on Rob Hahn and you get Fox News gadfly Tucker Carlson. Their politics are not the same, though a libertarian streak runs through both. They like to bite the horse. That is what a real gadfly does. And as annoying as they can be, they do it with some intellectual fervor. They are characteristically obsessive, which is common among this particularly persistent but entertaining media archetype.

Take the National Association of Realtors (NAR) CEO search. Hahn carried the cross for mapping out what NAR should do when hiring its new chieftain and then painted the outcome with a single stroke — How could you?

Part one of his 5400-word rant was dubbed, ‘The Silence of our Friends: NAR CEO Edition,” trashing almost anyone who applauded or who didn’t publicly criticize the Bob Goldberg choice. He cast them as cowards.

Then like someone stacking too many pancakes on a single pile, he took NAR president Bill Brown to task for objecting to his first post. The message was “I dare you!’ — very Tucker Carlson-like.

All of this was fair fodder. And we should be grateful the industry has Tucker Hahn to remind us that the decision certainly looks like a classic inside job.

Who is the X Woman?

Here is what I heard through the Realtor-vine. The NAR search committee recommended at least three candidates to the seven-member NAR leadership team for the CEO position to replace longtime exec Dale Stinton — Bob Goldberg, Alex Perriello, an X-woman, and maybe one outsider. Was there an order to their recommendations? Not sure; I heard two conflicting scenarios.

Then, the NAR leadership team, who made the final decision, voted. But they were allegedly split. As often occurs in these sort of split votes, at the end of the discussion and the vote, the Chairman (2017 NAR President Bill Brown) asked for a voice “acclamation,” which is a form of unanimous consent once one candidate has enough votes (four was the magic number).

This happens so that it can be reported out that everyone agreed, and — technically — they did.

Eventually, someone will get drunk in a hotel lobby bar and spill the beans on all of the details. Transparency, meet your best friend: Alcohol.

Though touted as such, this was not a transparent process. NAR was paranoid enough about keeping the process secret that their legal counsel sent us a letter about our reporting on the CEO selection decisions.

But at this stage, who cares. Goldberg is the choice. Good luck, Bob!

My advice to you: The end is near for top-down leadership trying to rule the roost. The empowered agent runs the real estate industry, no one else. Not brokers, not franchisors, not Zillow and not you and the NAR leadership team.

The old hierarchical system needs some work to adapt to this bottoms-up reality.

Trade groups play an important role, but the days are over for them trying to control the universe.

Outside Inman

TV and video games explain economic purgatory?

Like a deceivingly stable rollercoaster, we see unemployment down, job growth up, interests rates low. The housing is market recovering and the stock market is celebrating some sort of weird Wall Street party. Yet economic growth is anemic, the equity divide is unresolved and consumers are uneasy. We are stuck in that economic middle ground between heaven and hell — limbo. What’s up?

The researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco work late to figure out these economic Rubik’s Cubes.

Their latest: “The Disappointing Recovery of Output after 2009” aka “Why are We in Purgatory?”

They note “the slow growth of total productivity, and the decline in labor force participation,” a trend that started before the recession and is now hurting the economy.

Normally, people pursue employment to get out of their economic ditch. Unemployment comes down and people go back to work after a recession. But not this time, say the researchers.

Interestingly, poorer families went back to work at increased labor participation rates. But not families with higher incomes. And this is what is dragging down the economy and accounts for low rates of growth.

Source: “The Disappointing Recovery of Output after 2009” report

If time spent looking for a job went down, which it did for higher income families, what were these folks doing with their time?

“Personal care and leisure [went up], which include a large amount of TV watching and other video-based entertainment, especially for men,” say the Fed analysts. “The drop in hours devoted to other activities included a decline in housework for women. Basically, time use shifted toward enjoyment and away from work and investment activities.”

America got lazy.

Inside Inman

(McMansion) Hell on earth: Blogger vs. Zillow

This fiery but short-lived story is important because the fight over photo intellectual property has just begun. What did we learn?

Zillow can’t sue third parties for photo copyright on the behalf of agents, brokers and MLSs, but it can flex its muscles in the legal land called terms of use with arguably some success. Kate Wagner won’t be taking photos off Z’s turf moving forward and, given the internet’s reaction to Zillow’s threat, I’d be surprised to see more threatening letters anytime soon.

Past post from McMansion Hell

Flop or flop: A new HGTV series about real estate startups

These startups will become relevant if one of the models actually catches on. Hundreds, if not thousands of predecessors, have tried and flopped.

Bots vs. agents

A website chat tool is betting on agents over bots. This face-off is more than a debate, changing the role of agents.

BREAKING NEWS!

Cutting-edge instant offer/iBuyer platforms breaking out all over the country. Talk about convenient.

Comment of the week

“Poaching of agents gets old and makes the industry look like a car lot full of used car salesmen,” said Jim Weix, referring to the brokerage that got punished with a $5M verdict in agent poaching case brought by Douglas Elliman.

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